Mask: I want to sell more Tesla in Japan. Why is that bothersome?
At the time of 2010, Elon Musk predicted that Japan would become Tesla's largest market outside the US.
However, now that more than 10 years have passed since then, EV manufacturers are not doing as well in Japan as Musk expected.
“There are regions like Japan where market share is significantly lower,” Musk said at the fourth quarter earnings briefing earlier this week. “At the very least, we should have a market share comparable to other non-Japanese automakers like Mercedes and BMW.”
However, Tesla has already faced off against major Japanese automobile manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, and Nissan, but in reality, all EV manufacturers are struggling to make an impact in Japan.
In recent years, the number of EVs sold has increased rapidly in America and Europe, but despite Japan being one of the largest automobile markets in the world, sales of all-electric vehicles have been delayed.
One reason for this is that hybrid cars tend to dominate the Japanese market. Bloomberg reports that the sales volume of hybrid vehicles surpassed the total market share of gasoline cars and diesel cars for the first time in 2023.
Mr. Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior automotive analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said, “The reason hybrid cars are popular in Japan is because they are affordable and highly reliable because they do not depend on charging infrastructure.”
And it seems that the leaders are reluctant to shift their focus from this strength to battery-powered alternatives.
Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Toyoda Akio and Automobile Association Chairman previously criticized the Japanese media for exaggerating the commercial and environmental advantages of EVs, and called that advantage a “mirage.”
This is because the development of charging infrastructure has also been delayed, and there are only about 30,000 EV charging connectors nationwide.
However, Japanese automakers have plans to strengthen their EV initiatives.
Toyota has announced that it will develop 30 battery electric vehicles by 2030, and Honda is aiming for EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to account for 100% of sales volume by 2040.
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takoyakimitaiyane : Apart from that, it's fine for expensive ones; if they have acceptable added value... Tesla is too big...
Holy8 : I don't think EV cars are adapted to Japan's climate. It's a dangerous ride in the middle of a snowy winter.
人類 : Tesla hasn't continued to evolve to suit specific countries or special circumstances, so it might be better not to expect too much
Magnificent7 : The Model 3 is easy to use. What I want is a cyber mini in terms of size... I wonder what kind of design the Model 2 is...