Japanese Manufacturers Upping Reverse Importing

'Reverse importing' means importing cars into the brand's country of origin that are manufactured abroad. It's a very common practice, but not so much in Japan or Asia generally. Considering that Japan has many car plants overseas, it's surprising to me that reverse importing has been kept to a minimum. 

To the right is a chart broken down into five year periods. It shows the average number per year of imported passenger cars that are Japanese brands. 

There is a fair bit of fluctuating but for eleven months of 2025 the number is up substantially. Is it just a flash in the pan or is this going to be a more common practice?

It's true that back in 1995 and 1996, there were slightly more imported but they quickly fell back. Could this happen again? It doesn't seem so. There are financial and political pressures on car makers so importing can help in both cases. 

One reason for the reluctance was to maximise local production, which I believe is viewed very positively in Japan. I recall the first generation Dualis (Qashqai) crossover was made in Japan but it was not exported so the volumes didn't justify it being just for local consumption. 

The second generation therefore wasn't produced domestically. All export markets (except China) were covered by production from the UK. One would think a switch to sourcing cars from there would be logical but no, they just stopped selling them in Japan.

Another possible reason was that unhelpful certification procedures, which makes lower volume imports for regular cars less attractive. The current situation acts effectively as an import obstructor. 

I notice that Toyota is going to import some lower volume cars made in the USA. It will be facilitated by relaxed certification procedures that will be implemented by Japan’s transportation ministry. I don't know if this relaxing of certification procedures is for all future imports or is only being applied selectively. 

It would make sense for Japanese car companies to import more to avoid duplication and offer more variety. It may impact slightly on local production volumes but surely to a negligible degree. Of course, obstructive certification procedures may force them to limit that. Still, there may be an increase of reverse importing, especially if the Japanese authorities cooperate. 

Challenges For The Automobile Industry

Industries generally are grappling with various issues but the car industry is particularly vulnerable. One former CEO was critical of the wastefulness of the industry with a reluctance to share costs with other manufacturers. Necessity is moving many to increased cost sharing. 

Car companies have many issues to deal with and most are not self inflicted. Here are some of them.

Tariffs: These have always been around, usually started to protect local manufacturing but tend to hang around long after that is no longer required. The worst offenders are in Asia, with China recently reducing the threshold on tariffs for premium cars, which is over and above its standard tariff. The US has also been using tariffs to encourage more local manufacturing. 

Regulations. Reducing emissions is the goal, achieved with incentives or disincentives. If done with reasonable warning, the industry can adjust. Sometimes, they can prove to be hard to achieve, causing backtracking as with the EU in a recent about face on its 2035 deadline to end fossil fuel vehicles. A relief for some in the industry, but still disruptive for others. 

Instability. A recent semiconductor shortage and raw material issues contribute to production delays. Rising costs for materials, energy and labour is pushing up costs and usually prices. Even logistical disruptions regarding maritime and road transport have to be accommodated.

Technology. Modern cars are becoming even more complex, with emphasis shifting from mechanical engineering (which is still needed) to increased software development for new features. 

Increasing Competition & Development cycles. Many new brands are coming out of China and the fight for market share is hotting up. New model development has been extremely slow in the past but things are speeding up in that area. 

Summary. The consumer is increasingly spoiled for choice, perhaps even bewildered but doesn't necessarily think about challenges the industry is facing. We just want a good product that fulfils our needs. Meanwhile, the industry grapples with all the challenges that come its way. Hurdles it must jump to survive and hopefully prosper. 

Electric Vehicles Proving Expensive

When I say proving expensive, I'm refering to some manufacturers in this instance. In particular Ford and the F-150 Lightning. If the name Lightning implied that would be selling fast, then that would be a misnomer. 

Sales were suggested to be in the 150,000 region per annum. They peaked at 33,500 in 2024 and over the four years it's been on sale, barely got past a combined total of 100,000. The scrapping of federal EV tax credits may have been the final nail in the coffin, but maybe it was doomed regardless. 

The amazing thing is it was the best selling BEV truck in the US. Mind you, the Cybertruck wasn't exactly competition, just a little opposition. Still there are others out there and they were beaten too. Despite that, Ford has decided to end the Lighning. 

So this u-turn is costing the company billions of dollars, according to Ford. From the outset, I never saw BEVs as an ideal mass market vehicle, more likely to carve out a niche. Surely, fuel cell or synthetic fuels have potential for broader mass appeal. 

Some markets see it differently and are pushing BEVs to become the future of mobility, for now at least. One positive is they are providing some stability by not flip flopping. What it shows is that predicting the future is as difficult as it has ever been. Those that are putting a great deal of money into BEVs are taking a risk and already some have been burned. Electric vehicles sure can be expensive. 

Toyota Deeside Wales

The UK produces quite a few car engines. Up to November, 2025 about 1.5 million engines were manufactured YTD. With the world moving away from ICE powered vehicles, that looked like an industry living on borrowed time. Recent pull backs on the move to ban such engines will give this industry a reprieve. 

One such plant is situated in Deeside, North Wales, which started producing engines for the Carina model in 1992. My father grew up in the area, so I do have a connection with it. He worked at the local Shotton Steelworks before moving away. 

According to Toyota, the plant employs around 600 workers and in 2024, a total of 244,463 hybrid & petrol engines were produced. 

They found their way into the Corolla built in Derbyshire, for the C-HR model built in Turkey and the Corolla Cross in South Africa. 

The Deeside engine assembly line has the capability to produce an engine every 44 seconds, the fastest Toyota assembly line of its type in the World.

So if you own any of the models mentioned above, the engine came from Deeside, Wales. Pictures and information sourced from Toyota UK. 

EU to Backtrack on China Sourced EVs?

Since November 2024, the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese sourced electric cars (BEV) due to unfair advantage through state subsidies. Now pressure is being applied by a European car maker who manufacture a BEV in China to make an exception for them. What is the reasoning?

According to VW's SEAT/Cupra, they say it is "an unfair tariff that penalises strategic investments." So making cars in China rather than Europe is 'strategic' or the definition of the word 'helping achieve a plan'. Protecting European jobs isn't the plan nor punishing perceived infair subsidies, so I guess increased profit is the strategic plan.  

After deciding to build a car somewhere and then legislation is introduced that affects that decision adversely is a bitter pill to swallow. Getting an exemption would seem an ideal solution. The downside is opening the door to many others doing the same and that works against the initial tariff's aim. 

Other brands make electric cars in China. BMW decided to make the MINI Aceman in China rather than the UK but would retaining tariffs lead BMW to start making them in the UK? Volvo produces the EX30 in Belgium and that circumvents tariffs. It seems Dacia will bring the Spring model production back to Europe in 2026. I wonder how the manufacturers that accepted BEV tariffs and are moving production back to Europe are now feeling?

 As to whether tariffs are a good idea or not in this situation is not an argument I want to join. As a general observation though, SEAT/Cupra is looking at their personal situation and they want an exception for their benefit. Considering the effect on others and the impact on the overall objective becomes secondary. 

BEV sales in Europe aren't going that well anyway and plans to impose a ban on selling new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU from 2035 have been abandoned. I wonder if trying to beat the tariff will reap that much anyway.

Brands From China In France : 2025 (Jan -Nov)

The chart to the right shows sales of brands that are based in China. Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increases over 12 months of 2024. 

There have been some impressive gains plus some new ones, n/a showing that. Saying that, compared to many other markets, the 3.1% overall penetration is low. 

MG is well established (since 2020) and BYD has wasted no time in moving up the rankings, 2024 is its first full year here. Leapmotor and Xpeng have done well in a short time as well. 

It will be interesting to see what develops from here. The EU have set tariffs based on what they have determined are unfair subsidies. These are not imposed as a blanket figure but vary according to the calculated amount of the subsidy. 

This will have impacted the numbers compared to the UK, where they haven't acted on this issue so far. I would like to do an article on Norway, which has like the UK, does not impose tariffs. I just don't get enough data to do that. 

For others in the series: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore. The UK.

Data source: AAADATA. 

Photo source: MG (EHS - top) and Xpeng (G6 -bottom) France. 

JLR's Gerry McGovern Leaves The Company

Anyone who reads articles here will know my affection for the Jaguar marque but also my disquiet about the direction it is being taken. Bold decisions were needed with Jaguar, but bold needs to be executed sensibly. I cannot think of one decision that would describe Jaguar's treatment in recent times as sensible. 

The design of the new range of Jaguar EVs looked appalling in my opinion. One could tell that designers of the quality of Ian McCallum were not part of the process. The new CEO has shown JLR design boss Gerry McGovern the door. There could be various reasons as to why his departure happened, but I won't speculate. 

The new designs and the premium/electric direction Jaguar is being taken cause me to fear for its future because I am not sure it will work. Can JLR afford to recalibrate Jaguar again, or are they committed to continuing their current trajectory? I would say the latter, unfortunately.

PS. For more on Jaguar, simply click on 'Brand - Jaguar' in the Labels column. 

Lotus Sales : 2025 (Q1-Q3)

Lotus Cars has always been a problem child. The issue hasn't been the product. Far from it. It's been about profitability or the lack of. Current owners are Geely (51%) and Etika Automotive (49%), a Chinese-Malaysian collaboration.

The current range consists of the Eletre and Emeya electric SUV/GT,  made in China. The petrol powered Emira and limited volume electric Evija sports cars, made in the UK. 

To the right we can see the last three years of sales, minus one quarter. Things took off in 2023 and continued through 2024. By 2025, orders had been met and a return to relative normality.

A hybrid version of the Eletre SUV is planned for 2026 and that should noticeably lift sales. A hybrid Emira and a smaller SUV are planned for 2027. 

Now looking at models, or more precisely. the two segments they reside in. Comparing Q1-Q3, the Car/SUV grouping is up from 53% to 72%. Both are down in volume and combined that is -40%. 

The sports car side of the business basically revolves around one model and therefore is going to boom with a new model and then fall away to something more reflective of true demand.

As for regions, China has emerged as the largest for Lotus sales, with 46% of the total. It's also the only region that increased. It would be safe to assume that the Car/SUV models would be the main cars sold there, while the sports cars are the more popular elsewhere. 

Data and photo source: Lotus Cars. 

Photos (from the top). Eletre, Emira, Evija and Emeya.

An Entitled Workforce

My grandfather worked his way up in a company to management level in the UK. Having been a worker and in management, he had a perspective on both sides, yet he would often say "The working man's enemy is the working man himself". 

JLR has recently had to contend with tariffs put in place in its largest market. It was more recently hit by a cyber attack that really hurt the company financially. You would think common sense would prevail and the current situation JLR is facing would temper wage increase expectations. 

A pay offer has just been submitted by the company and the trade unions recommended its acceptance. 7,724 workers rejected the offer, with 2,129 accepting it. This is a short sighted, self centred reaction from the majority of the workers. 

I recently wrote an article on the subject generally, which can be read by clicking here. So back to the negotiating table. I would have thought the best thing for JLR would now be to start planning to move all its production off shore. They could make vehicles just about anywhere else at a lower cost. 

The industry is facing increased competition and JLR is under pressure like many other car makers. A shout out to the trade unions for showing some common sense, and the 2,129 workers who are seeing the bigger picture. As for the rest, you are your own worst enemy. 

France Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Passenger car sales were up 2.9% in October but down 5.4% YTD. Hybrid market share has gone from 41% to 51% of the total, with electric cars up from 17% to 19% share. 

In October Stellantis and Group Renault both have 26% market penetration. YTD it is 29% and 27% respectively.

To the right we have the usual colour coded chart showing the best selling passenger car models and which region they are associated with.

There is no surprise that French brands and those owned by them are doing well. In addition, both the Yaris and Yaris Cross are also made in France. 

Data source: CCFA.

Photo source: Citroen (ë-C3) & Nissan (Qashqai) France.

BMW Brand Global Deliveries : 2023-25 (Q1-Q3)

BMW is a marque that puts emphasis on performance. A BMW advertiseing executive even coined the phrase "The ultimate driving machine". I've never driven one to prove that, but at least I can check out the sales performance.

BMW currently delivers about 2.2 million cars each year. The last time the figure was below 2 million was 2015. It seems 2025 will again pass that mark and comfortably so.

Regions: These figures include MINI and RR as BMW release them that way. That explains why the total figures are different. 

Europe is the largest region and is up 9%. Asia has been the leading are for deliveries since 2020 but now a change at the top.

Asia is still prominent and the next largest region, down 8% with China within that region predictably 11% lower. The Americas is up 10% and 'Others' up 13%.

Rolls Royce Global Deliveries : 2023-25 (Q1-Q3)

The name Rolls Royce is often attached to something that is the best quality you can obtain. The cars are known for exceptional craftsmanship, prestige and engineering. 

Deliveries were often around the thousand mark until 2010, when they took an upward turn. They peaked in 2022 and 2023 at 6,000 and slipped back to 5,700 in 2024. 

2025 is going well and depending on Q4, should reach or exceed last year. Not that volume is the thing for RR. Customer demand will dictate the number made. 

Regional sales are not provided by the owner BMW. I'm assuming China is down and was the reason for 2024's slightly lower figure. 

BMW MINI Global Deliveries : 2023-25 (Q1-Q3)

Retro models rarely last too long. An initial flurry and then it's over. The MINI has lasted very well and still sells strongly. In an industry where models grow with each new generation has been less successful. 

MINI hit 300,000 deliveries in 2012 and stayed above that until 2022 when it slipped just below. 2023 did likewise and then a drop in 2024, one that you have to go back to 2010 to see it lower. 

Was the grim reaper sharpening his scythe? No. The fourth generation has arrived and sales are going up, but not to the heights it has achieved in the past. It is still a popular car that's fun to drive.

BMW doesn't post regional sales for MINI. Europe and North America are major destinations for shipments. I don't know how the US's tariffs are going to affect sales there. For now, at least, 2025 is looking much better than the year before. 

Bentley Global Deliveries : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Bentley cars have always been and still are known as high-performance, luxury vehicles that are well-crafted, powerful but still retaining a classic elegance. I should have a job at Bentley's media centre. 

After years of exceptional growth, the last couple of years have seen reduced volumes. The heights they reached were probably not sustainable and the current levels are.

After nine consecutive quarters of a reduced number of deliveries, Q3 2025 saw a healthy 24% increase on what was an admittedly poor Q3 2024. Predictions about Q4 2025 sales are difficult with global economic uncertainties but Q4 is usually good for the marque.

Bentley does anticipate a sales increase due to the release of redesigned, high-performance hybrid models of the Continental GT and Flying Spur. However, the current and future focus is on "value over volume".

Models: Continental GT deliveries were 3,356 (+14%), the Bentayga was 2,767 (-20%) and the Flying Spur 1,770 (-18%). The Continental GT contributed 42.5% of the total, the Bentayga 35% and the Flying Spur 22.5%. 

Regions: Europe is the big improver here, up from 23% to 31%. The USA is slightly down but now below Europe. China is off by nearly a quarter and 'Others' are -16%. 

Data source: Audi. Photo source: Bentley. 

Lamborghini Global Deliveries : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Things are going well for Lamborghini. Up 10% in 2023, up 6% in 2024. Down so far in 2025 by 3% but in the current climate a good result. 

Looking to the chart to the right, we see the last two years in quarters. The only negative would be the trend downward over the last two quarters. 

Light at the end of the tunnel could be that Q4 2024 wasn't that strong. We will have to wait and see. 

Models: Urus deliveries were 5,679 (+15%), Revuelto was 1,520 (+8%), Temerario 83 (+69%) and the Huracán just 4 (-99.9%). The Urus contributed 78% of the total. 

Regions: Europe has moved up to 40% of total deliveries. The US and China are both well down which brought the total into negative territory.

I've never really understood the popularity of the marque. Clearly, many see it differently. It certainly has a uniqueness of overstated styling although the new Temerario (photo below) looks more conservative. 

China is one place where Lamborghini isn't that popular. Not a bad thing, as China is increasingly difficult for many overseas brands. 

Data source: Audi. Photo source: Lamborghini.

Audi Global Deliveries : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Audi has been cutting back on volume for a few years now. 1.9 million in 2023, 1.67 million in 2024 and maybe 1.58 million by the end of 2025. 

As we can see to the right, there have been decreases for seven consecutive quarters. 2023 was all quarterly increases. Deliveries are down 5% YTD.

For the 2025 calendar year, Audi has stopped reporting deliveries by model.

Regions: 'Others' are up nicely but everywhere else is down, China and the USA in particular. Overall, not too much variance. 

Production: In Germany it was 455,500 (+10%) and all other countries 747,000 (-12%). Production in China was 416,800 (-11%) and it now second behind Germany in terms of volume. Production in Belgium and Brazil has ended and assembly has commenced in Malaysia. In China there are a few assembly plants but they are now a combined figure. 

Data & photo source: Audi.

Aston Martin Global Deliveries : 2022-25 (Q1-Q3)

Aston Martin is a marque of distinction, not hurt by its connection with the most famous of secret agents. It has also been a company that found profitability to be elusive.

A car company that low volume and labour intensive needs to charge for the exclusivity and quality. There are only so many people buying such cars and there are several vying for customers.

To the right are quarterly deliveries for the past four years. They have been very consistent with Q4 always being an upward spike in volume. 

2025 will need that spike although Aston Martin is focused on a sound business model rather chasing volume to look good. I'd say 2025 will be down but not by too much. 

Regions: All the regions are down with Asia/Pacific the most. China would be the main reason but relying on that market is increasingly challenging for many reasons.

Aston Martin has to deal with tariffs and consumption taxes that exist around the world and they are getting worse and not better. 

Every country claims to be a champion of fair trade but for many countries it is nothing more than hypocritcal posturing. Sometimes trade has to be regulated to balance the books but at other times manipulated to selfishly generate large trade surpluses. This is something that hurts companies like Aston Martin.  

 

Models: Sports cars are holding up well but the DBX SUV a little less so. The Valhalla will be introduced in Q4 of 2025 and Aston Martin hopes to deliver about 150 in Q4 2025 and a further 500 in 2026. The Vanquish Volante, DBX S, Vantage S and Volante 60th Anniversary models are all coming out in late 2025. The DB12 S is planned for the first half of 2026. Plenty of things happening.