Nissan joins U.S.-to-Japan auto export push

[Financial News]

Instead of exporting cars made in Japan to the United States, Nissan has now joined the list of automakers shipping U.S.-built vehicles to the Japanese market.
With Nissan’s move, all three of Japan’s major automakers—Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, and Nissan Motor—have embarked on re-exports from the U.S. to Japan.
According to Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), Nissan Motor plans to begin exporting the mid-size SUV Nissan Murano, produced in Smyrna, Tennessee, to Japan early next year. This will be the first time since the 1990s that U.S.-made Nissan vehicles are shipped to Japan. Nissan, which entered the U.S. market in 1958, previously re-exported a few models such as the Nissan Quest minivan to Japan.
In a statement, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said the export of the Murano will strengthen Nissan’s product lineup in Japan and help the company better respond to diverse consumer needs.
The move comes against the backdrop of a U.S.-Japan trade agreement that has lowered barriers to U.S.-made cars entering the Japanese market.
Under a trade deal reached last year amid tariff pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Japan last month scrapped regulations requiring U.S.-made vehicles to meet Japanese standards. As long as they comply with U.S. standards, the cars can now be sold in Japan.
As a result, Nissan Motor has decided not to modify vehicles for export to Japan by switching the position of the driver’s seat. While Japanese cars typically have the steering wheel on the right, Nissan will sell the U.S.-spec Murano with the steering wheel on the left.
Global automakers usually adapt export models to meet each country’s safety and technical regulations. However, under U.S. pressure, Japan can no longer impose such requirements on U.S.-made vehicles.
Toyota Motor was the first to open the door for U.S.-made cars to be exported to Japan. In December last year, Toyota announced it would begin exporting the U.S.-built Toyota Camry sedan, Toyota Highlander SUV, and Toyota Tundra pickup truck to Japan starting this year.
Following Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Japan’s second-largest automaker, said earlier this month that it will start selling the U.S.-made Acura Integra Type S and the SUV Honda Passport TrailSport Elite in Japan in the second half of the year.
Even so, experts expect the actual export volumes to remain modest.
Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, noted that about 95% of Japan’s domestic market is supplied by Japanese brands. He added that total vehicle imports from around the world do not even reach 250,000 units, and most of those are German cars.
According to Fiorani, U.S. brands manufactured outside the United States account for only a small share of the Japanese market, with Jeep selling around 8,700 vehicles and Cadillac about 500.
Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility, also pointed out that most imported vehicles in Japan are either large models or niche segments in the Japanese market. She said that, aside from the Honda Integra, the models headed to Japan are relatively large vehicles.


dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter