Prospect of Beijing Auto Show: Japanese

　　Citing an undisclosed source from SOHU Yumo’s blog, not long ago I saw a television series, called The Legend of Meng Laicai, wisdom stories about Meng Laicai who started from a beggar fighting with the Japanese profiteer Yuantian during the period of late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China. Here is an interesting episode: thinking of squeezed, Yuantian wanted to kidnap Meng Laicai and kill him. However, clever Meng divined his plan and designed to let their old customer Mr. Cao caught by Yuantian, ending in personal hatred between Yuantian and Mr. Cao. Yuantian tried several times to visit Mr. Cao in order to apologize but was refused. Showing up uninvited at the wedding of Meng, Yuantian seized a chance to present Mr. Cao a golden pistol which finally eased their intense relationship.

　　This story is quite similar to the famous Toyota’s recall issue recently. If consumers are compared to Mr. Cao (The difference is in the play Mr. Cao is grabbing money in the name of buying arms while the consumers are buying cars for personal use. though both are buying behaviors, the standpoint and purpose are totally different), then Toyota is Yuantian. As luck would have it, Yuantian is also Japanese, which makes the metaphor more appropriate. But up to now, we have not seen the golden pistol should have been presented to the consumers by Toyota. This time, Can Mr. Cao in Zhejiang province or even the whole country be satisfied by the small favor given by Toyota?

　　In fact, the content above has nothing to do with the subject matter. Then let us take a look at the new Japanese cars to be debuted at the upcoming Beijing auto show.

　　Toyota: not to give up the Chinese market

　　It seemed a number of new models are to be introduced by Toyota at this show. However, I feel so not many models deserve much attention. The new models such as the Prius, Corolla, etc., are only slightly modified. Besides, models like Corolla have a facelift probably only in the Chinese market. In this exhibition, in my opinion, the only eye-catching models are New Reiz of FAW-Toyota and Toyota Auris.

　　New Reiz was launched in Japan last year and will soon be produced in Sichuan. After the introduction of new crown at Shanghai Auto Show, Toyota Reiz is expected to be a major product to breakthrough the sales in the high-end market. Toyota Auris has already been listed in the European market. A source said production line of Tianjin FAW Toyota factory has now been debugging and Corolla and Corolla will both be produce here in the near future. Being the Corolla’s hatchback version landing in China, Auris is the first A-level hatchback model of Toyota in Chinese market.

　　In addition to the joint venture, Toyota’s Lexus is also to debut a new RX270 with 2.7L displacement to improve the power distribution of RX series and rich product lines so as compete with rivals. Besides, there is also a LFA super sports car and a Soft-top convertible sports car IS250. The engine of LFA will be 4.8L V10 with a maximum engine power of 412Kw (552 hp).

　　The introduction of new models seems not influenced by Toyota recall issue. However, the PRM of Toyota could not satisfy Chinese consumers. The perspective of Toyota in the China can only be told by the market.

　　Honda: to keep steady development strategy

　　Compared with Toyota, the pace of Honda has been obviously much slower, which perhaps is not a bad thing. At Beijing Auto Show this year, the model Guangzhou Honda Automobile is to introduce was Accord Crosstour, which has been already available in the North American and a high-class SUV called Pilot of which the Patent Disclosure and Licensing Declaration has already been exposed. Although there have been so much speculations of Accord Crosstour by the media about, I am not to be optimistic about the future of this model. With two power configurations of 2.4L and 3.5L and each gets two and four-wheel drive, Pilot is quite popular in North America. The biggest competitor of Honda Pilot in the Chinese market is the Toyota Highlander.

　　Guangzhou Toyota Motor have two new models while Dongfeng Honda, may only has a smaller version of CR-V firstly debuted at Geneva International Motor Show. However, Liu Hong, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Honda accepted an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily in March, “our independent brand models that started two years ago will also be officially unveiled in the near future.” According to Southern Metropolis Daily, this statement is means Dongfeng Honda will debut its own brand models at the Beijing auto show. Whether it is true or not, we can only get the right answer after the opening ceremony of Beijing Auto Show.

　　In terms of the speed of launching new models in China, Honda is much slower than Toyota. Besides, unlike Toyota, Honda has not adopted strategy of making several generations of one model, for example Corolla, coexist in order to achieve high profits and sales. What is more, the new models of Honda can basically stand the test of the market. Compared to Toyota, Honda seems kinder.

　　Nissan: the next major growth point is small cars and SUV

　　Models of Nissan to be displayed at this show are mainly small cars and SUVs, represented by March, JUKE, NV200 that will be limitedly produced soon and LEAF, a pure electric model which is to be introduced into the Chinese market in 2011 as well as and many new versions of Nissan’s models with small changes and yearly adjustments.

　　Nissan March was firstly debuted at Geneva Motor Show in March, and now has developed to the fourth generation in foreign countries. The new March will be the first model to be launched in A0-class market. In the future March will compete with small cars such as Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit to snatch the market.

　　Similarly, Juke was also firstly debuted at Geneva Motor Show. According to recent media reports, this model seems not to appear at the Beijing Auto Show. Perhaps Nissan strands its introduction because its lovely design does not meet current domestic aesthetic demand. Therefore, Juke loss the opportunity to meet Chinese audience at Beijing auto show.

　　In addition to Nissan itself, its subsidiary Infiniti will also bring a lot of new cars such as Infiniti concept car Essence, FX Series, EX series, G37 coupe and G37 sedan and M 4 series models as well as an elegant luxury dazzling full-size SUV model. Currently, the manufacturer has not yet announced specific information. Rumors said it is expected to be one of Q Series models, QX56.

　　Other Japanese brands: new models distribute various segment markets

　　Mitsubishi will launch a new SUV model ASX, which has received so much concerns after firstly unveiled at Geneva International Motor Show and been said to be strong competitor against many other compact SUV such as Honda-made CRV, Toyota RV4 and Korean series ix35 after its localization.

　　Referring to Mazda at this time’s Motor Show, All three models of new Mazda 3, Coupe model Mazda 6 and Mazda 8 are worth concerning. Although it is not the first time for them to be debuted, the scene will be much different from the pictures or videos.

　　Suzuki will display A0 Splash and mid-size car Kizashi at the Beijing Auto Show. I have experienced both these two models’ Japanese version. If Kizashi can be made in China, its market prospect is worth waiting for.

　　Here comes the Summary: compared to U.S. brands that focus mainly on upgrading of current models, Japanese manufacturers are continuously launching new models to be introduced. At this show, only Toyota Reiz and Mazda 3 are new generation of old models while others are cars with small changes and newly introduced models. Whether new models can be accepted by the market needs time to verify while the updating of models is easier for consumers to accept. From this point, the U.S. and German manufacturers are more cautious that Japanese.

　　(Translator: yalong/Jessie)

　　See original Chinese report Please click: http://wjttts.blog.sohu.com/147885801.html