Why are young people in Japan not buying cars?
Japan’s new car sales peaked in 1990 at 7.8 million vehicles. How many cars were sold in 2019?
5.2 million - 6.2 million - 7.9 million
In his book “お金の分かれ道”, an investment advisor, Heisuke Kamiki, listed these reasons:
Public transport
Parking
Traffic
Status symbol
Income of young people
Car-related taxes are high
自動車取得税 (じどうしゃしゅとくぜい)
消費税 (しょうひぜい)
自動車重量税 (じどうしゃじゅうりょうぜい)
揮発油税 (きはつゆぜい)
自動車税 (じどうしゃぜい)
Every 2 years you need Vehicle Safety Inspection 車検 (しゃけん)
Highway Tolls
Car rental services
Notes:
In the past a car was seen as a status symbol but it isn’t anymore
vehicle acquisition tax, consumption tax (8%), , automobile weight tax, gas tax, automobile tax (every year)
What are the benefits of owning a car?
If I have children and live in Tokyo, do you recommend I buy a car?
How are car makers targeting young people?
Prices: Nissan ¥10.83 million Honda ¥24.2 million Suzuki - concept only
Electric Vehicles
environment
cost
Autonomous Vehicles
seniors can use them -> roads are safer
cost
Honda N-Box
N-Box: Honda’s best selling Kei car (¥1.5 million)
Features:
error-detecting pedals
automatic emergency braking
foldable seats
Honda released the N-box to target young people (especially with families).
Do you think it was successful?
50% of the buyers were over 60.
Why are Kei cars so popular with seniors?
size - price - user-friendly - safe - families
Japanese car-sharing service, Orix, recently discovered that many of its customers were renting its cars but not driving them.
Why were people renting cars?
naps
work
storage
charge phones
eat
talk on the phone
watch TV
dress up for halloween
practice rapping
sources:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/13/business/japan-losing-drive-get-behind-wheel/
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2019/11/4/can-japan-make-cars-for-people-who-dont-want-them
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/10/12/business/hondas-n-box-minicars-prove-hit-japans-elderly-drivers/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/5/20683406/japan-car-sharing-renting-not-driving-private-space-orix-times24