The effects of changing global trends on Asia’s car industry

Toyota Motor Corporation is bullish about its sales outlook for 2012. The company expects that its sales will increase due to a surge of demand in the U.S., as owners of old vehicles replace their automobiles with new ones, after nearly a decade of dormant demand. American consumers are expected to veer towards highly fuel-efficient small cars and hybrids as a result of rising gasoline prices. Toyota’s global sales goal for 2012 is 9.58 million vehicles, 1.63 million vehicles more than last year’s sales, which was affected by the disruption of the company’s production chain, following the earthquake in March and the flooding in Thailand. Sales of German and South Korean cars, on the other hand, are expected to slacken after years of strong growth in several emerging markets including China, where rapid growth is starting to slow. There are few model changeovers scheduled by the German and South Korean automakers for this year.
Fuel efficiency becomes prime consideration
With the plans of the U.S., Europe, Japan and China to implement tougher environmental regulations by 2015, environmentally friendly technology is becoming a priority among carmakers. Several countries like Japan have been perfecting their hybrid technology, but demand for hybrids has not caught up with diesel engines particularly in Europe, where it is still the more popular option. Bioethanol continues to dominate in Brazil, and China, which initially tried to introduce hybrids, has abandoned plans to mass produce hybrids. German carmaker Volkswagen AG has introduced vehicles with smaller, but powerful, engines that are simpler than hybrids but just as fuel-efficient. Mizuho Corporate Bank has predicted that the top green car technology in China by 2030 will be Volkswagen’s small engine technology. Carmakers General Motors Corporation and BMW AG have also developed similar technologies. (March 11, 2012)