BMW Dominates Imported Car Sales in Japan: Are They Overrated?

In 2012, imported cars are selling well. German cars are doing particularly well, with BMW, Benz, Audi, and VW all showing significantly higher sales than the previous year. However, the person in charge of this project believes that imported cars are expensive and oversold. Isn’t this tendency especially strong with German cars? There are not many people who are forced to wear clogs because of their image I thought about this with Mr. Teru Ishikawa, a car critic who tests import car drivers 100 times a year. (This article is a reprint of an article published in the March 10, 2013 issue of “Best Car”)

TEXT/Teru Ishikawa Maya, Editorial Department

■ Hybrid and diesel are doing great! What is BMW’s reputation?

BMW Active Hybrid 3 (6.99 million yen): A straight-6, 3L twin-scroll turbo engine is combined with a motor, producing a system output of 340ps. 0-100km/h acceleration time is a brisk 5.3 seconds

● Doubt about BMW
The story began with a comment from a member of the Japanese Car of the Year selection committee.
“The 86/BRZ is a very nice car, but still not as good as the BMW 3 series, which has a car-like character. “
Wait a minute, the 86/BRZ is a car that costs about 2.5 million yen, while the BMW 3 series (sedan) is a car that costs 4.5 million yen. Isn’t it natural to compare these and say “BMW is better”?
“In addition to gasoline, there are also hybrids, diesels and turbos. They are both advanced and versatile.”
No, no, no, how many models does BMW currently sell? Even if you count the product models separately, the best part is that there are 30 models. If there are fewer car models available, the technology that can be packed into each car model will be more diverse. Toyota has a lineup of over 60 models, so it can’t be helped that fewer technologies are packed into each model!
This is especially common among critics and people who consider themselves car connoisseurs, but why is BMW so highly rated? Don’t they like them?

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[An urra ri dealbhadh (air an ainmeachadh an-seo mar a tha os cionn)]Please answer my questions (especially me).

[Teru Ishikawa Maya (ris an canar Teru Maya an-seo)]What is it? What now?

[Sgrùdadh]Isn’t BMW being praised too much these days?

[Maya Teru]Well, I guess so… When you drive it, it feels like a solid car. The job of journalism is to evaluate excellent things as “excellent.”

[Sgrùdadh]I don’t think it has anything to do with journalism to compare a 2.5 million yen car with a 4.5 million yen car and write that the 4.5 million yen car is better. Ah, this is about the 86 / BRZ and 3 series.

[Maya Teru]Ah, that’s not really a comparison. Not only does it mean that it is not fair, but it also means that it misleads the reader.

[An urra]Right!? You should compare it to cars in the same price range.

[Teru Maya]Well, the BMW 3 Series is better even compared to competitors in the same price range.

[Sgrùdadh]Oh, is that so?

[Maya Teru]You are one of a kind. BMW, a manufacturer, is good at what is called “selection and concentration,” and we are in an environment where the results of our diligent research over the past 10 years are paying off​​​​ off.

[An urra]I think they do everything, like hybrids and diesels…

[Teru Mayata]In terms of hybrids, we have partnered with Toyota not only for sport, but for environmental technology. In the first place, they may give up on small cars 2L or less and mainly make bigger cars.

[Sgrùdaidh]Has it been successful?

[Maya Teru]I’m doing it. This is because the BMW company has been producing luxury sports sedans for many years. You think Subaru’s 4WD engines and flat resistance are amazing, right? It is the same.

[An urra]Is it stacking?

BMW is an engine manufacturer after all. Both gasoline and diesel engines match well with turbos and motors.

[Teru Maya]Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are highly rated in Germany, and I think BMW should be rated highly in Japan as well. But of course, as mentioned above, there are areas of expertise. For example, even if you are driving in the Tokyo metropolitan area, I don’t think “goodness of BMW” is very important.

[Sgrùdadh]Are you saying it doesn’t matter in Tokyo??

[Teru Maya]It’s a little hard to appreciate the “goodness” unless you’re in the speed range of around 100km/h.

[Sgrùdadh]Most roads in Japan are difficult to understand!

● Conclusion … appropriate, but difficult to understand in Japan!

BMW i8 (scheduled to be released in 2014)…The i8 is a 4WD plug-in hybrid sports car with a 1.5L 223ps 3-cylinder turbo driving the rear wheels and a 131ps motor driving the front wheels.

● Recent BMW (ie in 2012)
– Official decision on joint development with Toyota on January 24 of this year.
– Annual global sales in 2012 reached a record high of 1,845,186 units. An excellent performance with an increase of 10.6% compared to the previous year
・ Domestic sales totaled 57,314 units including MINI, which also showed an increase of about 20%.
・Especially strong is the 3 Series, which debuted in January 2012. The Japanese version has a lower overall width for the Japanese market, and diesel and hybrid models are also available.Winning the Car In Award -Japan Car Trade of the Year

Next page: ■ Has it become synonymous with fancy fancy cars? What is Audi’s reputation?