We Are Tomodachi Summer 2017

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10The Jeep “Renegade” features outstanding performance in a small-size design.In 2016, the sales of foreign automobiles in Japan increased 5.9% over the previous year to total 298,856 units. Some may think the Japanese automobile market is closed to imports, but actually, the import duty on passenger cars is zero (0%), and has been for many years. Naturally, there is a high amount of interest among consumers for imported cars. Although there are circumstances unique to Japan that tend to be overlooked, such as driving on the left side of the road (the steering wheel is on the right), the opposite side of most countries around the world. Also, the automated elevator-type parking towers built to effectively utilize small plots of land have limits to the size of cars that can be parked. When looking at the sales of foreign automobiles by company, the top-ranking companies are European. These companies made the effort to adapt to the Japanese market from a very early stage by introducing versions of their cars with steering on the right-hand side and other specifications adjusted for Japan. However, there is a particular company that has been swiftly breaking new ground in this environment, doubling its sales volume in the past five years. That company is FCA Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of FCA, an integrated automotive group established between the Fiat Group of Italy and the Chrysler Group of the United States. We spoke with Pontus Häggström, the President and CEO of FCA Japan, regarding the company’s success.“The automobile is a strong carrier of culture,” said Häggström to begin the interview, “and we at FCA pursue the merits of merging Italian and American culture and attempt to reflect them in each and every part.”Symbolizing FCA’s business model is the “Renegade,” the Jeep brand’s first compact SUV (sport utility vehicle) and first Jeep manufactured by FCA outside of the United States. The Renegade was a truly collaborative Foreign Auto Manufacturers Making Rapid Advances in Japan©Masayuki ArakawaFeature: Raising the Banner of Free Trade