Japanese cars have been on the Irish market for almost 30 years now and in that time their influence has expanded and waned and for quite a while just stayed stagnant, writes Andrew Hamilton
The fact is that most popular Japanese cars on Irish roads these days aren't built in Japan any more. The Toyota Avensis and Corolla come from Derbyshire while the Nissan Primera and Almera hail from Geordie country in the north of England. Toyota's supermini, the Yaris is built in France and Mazda's forthcoming Demio replacement will be sourced from Ford's Valencia plant in Spain.
The first Japanese car on the Irish market was the Toyota Corolla. It won quick market acceptance for a higher level of specification compared with its European rivals. The better spec included a push-button radio. In the early 1970s such a facility was unheard of as a standard feature. That indeed was the lesson that the Japanese taught their European rivals, more goodies as standard.
Some motor industry oberserves have unkindly suggested that the Japense aren't innovator, more copiers. Not quite true. We think of the Toyota Prius, for instance, which is on sale in Ireland. It has a cleverly packaged petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that gives fuel economy numbers and emisssion only normal cars can dream of. The Prius, launched in 1997, was a pioneer. A groundbreaking design that switches seamlessly between petroland electric modes, it offers four-door practicaity and can be topped up at any poetrol station.
Five years on, it's still one of the greenest cars on the road. Honda was next on the scene with the Insight, a futuristic 1.0 litee hybird coupe that bowed in 1999 and uses different technology to deliver 35 kilometrs to the litre (or an atonishing 99mpg). The new Honda Civic hybird that was launched at the Tokyo motor show late last year is probably a better proposition, registering 29.5 kilometres to the litre or 83mpgh. Unlike the Insight which is just a two-seater, there's all the space and practicality of the normal Civic body.
Japan's other automotive players are all following the hybird route, believing that it's going to be least 2015 before a proper alternative energy source like hydrogen is in place. At the Tokyo show last autumn, Mazda, Daihatsu, Subaru and again Honda all showed hybrid concepts, indicating that they are well on pace when it comes to developing super green earth-ffirendly cars of tomorrow.
Japan's domestic market maybe could teach us a few things about being fuel efficient. There's a huge market for kei jidosha or light cars of 660cc. These mini cars account for 30 per cent ot the Japanese market, equal to some 1.8 million units every year.
WHY buy a mini in Japan? Plausibly running costs are lower, parking in easier and outside big cities there are pakring concessions.
It's a sector that never stands still. At the Tokyo show, Daihatsu's stylised Copen roadster with its electric-folidng roof and its tiny teardrop hybrid coupe, were yet more variations on the 660cc theme. The latter incidentally is said to go for 55 kilometres on a litre of petrol which is 155mpg. Latest news is that Smart, the Mercedes-Benz city car, is on its way to Japan, the first non-Japanese to join the kei jidosha club.