Reverse colonization – Hyundai re-enters Japan with Ioniq 5 BEV and Nexo FCEV
Hans · Mar 3, 2022 10:21 AM
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Although Japan is a member of the World Trade Organization, its domestic market – the third largest in the world after China and USA - is one of the most protected among developed nations.
The Japanese government will tell you that Japan is an open market and that the same regulations apply to every manufacturer. That is true but Japan is also a very complex society and there are plenty of peculiar local user requirements and regulations – which although apply equally to every manufacturer - makes it difficult for foreign companies to grow there.
Even Uber got booted out from Japan, because Japanese taxi services are just too good for an American e-hailing app to understand.
Unless it’s a luxury brand or something special like a Chevrolet Corvette or a Cadillac Escalade, all other mass-market car brands don’t do well in Japan.
Launch of Hyundai Mobility Japan
Hyundai last sold a passenger car there in 2009, selling just a paltry 15,000 cars in its 8 years there.
Now, nearly 13 years later, the new and improved, and more confident Hyundai wants to take on Japan once more.
Hyundai House Harajuku
However unlike other foreign car makers, Hyundai isn’t marketing itself to Japanese buyers as a car manufacturer, but a mobility services company.
Hyundai has even dropped the word ‘Motor’ from its Japan sales office, calling itself Hyundai Mobility Japan.
That’s also because Hyundai’s re-entry into Japan is done exclusively with electric vehicles, the battery electric Ioniq 5 and hydrogen fuel cell electric Hyundai Nexo.
Its flagship showroom in the swanky Harajuku area in Tokyo is called Hyundai House Harajuku, and is presented as a brand experience store rather than a sales-focused car showroom.
The facility will not take any orders or sell cars, as all sales will be done online.
After Harajuku, Hyundai will be opening additional stores in Yokohama. It is also partnering with DeNA Sompo Mobility, operator of Japan’s Anyca ride sharing service, to put more customers behind the wheel of the Ioniq 5 and Nexo.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
