All Japan articles
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ArticleSuzuki debunks reports of assembly plans in Russia
[UPDATE 29th June] Japanese carmaker Suzuki has refuted claims in the Russian press that it is planning to build an assembly plant in Russia. The reports followed a speech given by Alexey Vorobyev, the governor of the Moscow administrative region, at the St Petersburg Economic Forum in early June in ...
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ArticleGestamp to build parts stamping plant closer to customers in Japan
Spanish automotive parts maker Gestamp is investing an initial €37m ($39m) to build its first plant in Japan for the supply of hot stamped parts to the domestic market.Hot stamping is a method of forming ultra high strength steel into complex shapes using heated blanks resulting in lighter components. L ...
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ArticleGhosn relinquishes Nissan CEO role, replaced by Saikawa
After 16 years as CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn will be replaced by Hiroto Saikawa (pictured) on April 1st this year.Ghosn will remain as chair of the Nissan board, and continue as CEO and chairman of Renault Group, as well as the Alliance entity, which includes the two companies and ...
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ArticleHonda and Hitachi announce plans for electric motor joint venture
Honda has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hitachi Automotive Systems for the joint production of electric vehicle motors, just a week after announcing a hydrogen fuel cell partnership with General Motors (GM) in the US.Hitachi has been selling motors for electric vehicles since 1999 to a number of carmakers ...
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ArticleToyota and Suzuki firm up partnership talk
Toyota president Akio Toyoda (left) and Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki at the October 2016 announcementToyota and Suzuki have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore potential cooperation in various business areas including the supply of products and components.In October last year, the two Japanese companies first announced an intention ...
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Article2016 in review: takeovers, disputes and political upheaval
The year 2016 may well go down as one of the most significant in recent history – not just politically but also for the automotive supply chain. Surprise voting results in the US and Europe have created significant uncertainty regarding global trade that may go on for years and is ...
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ArticleNissan initiates automated towing system at Oppama plant
Nissan has introduced an intelligent vehicle towing (IVT) system at its Oppama manufacturing plant in Japan that uses a modified, self-driving Leaf electric vehicle to pull a car-carrying trailer.Trials of the system began a year ago and over 1,600 test runs have been carried out since, the OEM has revealed.The ...
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ArticleNissan closes Fukushima engine plant following ‘aftershock’
Following Tuesday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Japan’s northeast coast Nissan took the precaution of temporarily closing its Iwaki engine plant in Fukushima prefecture.A spokesperson for the carmaker said that there had been no reports of injuries and “only minimal damage” at the plant following the earthquake.“Due to precautionary safety measures, employees ...
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ArticleNissan seeks synergies as it adds Mitsubishi to its alliance
In completing its $2.3 billion investment in a 34% stake in Mitsubishi this week, Nissan has added a third company to its 17 year-old global alliance with Renault.Not only will the deal make the combined group the world’s third largest car producer with an anticipated 10m vehicles this year, but ...
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ArticleNissan exports from Japan still struggling despite a boost in May
Nissan has recorded its first increase for six months in vehicle exports from Japan, with a rise in May of 19.5% year-on-year to 41,321 units. During the first five months of the year, however, global exports from the country were still down to 186,679 units, a decline of 13.5% compared ...
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ArticleIndonesian dealers demand $75m compensation from Ford
Ford in Indonesia could be facing a legal claim if it does not pay disgruntled dealers $75m in compensation for withdrawing all business from the country, which it plans to do by the end of this year.In January, Ford announced it was stopping all operations in Indonesia and Japan, including ...
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ArticleKobelco goes local to remain global
Japanese metal products manufacturer Kobelco is adopting a new strategy as it seeks to keep its automotive parts supply chain as quick and slick as possible... Japanese industrial group Kobelco is ‘moving abroad’ along with its carmaker and other customers by increasingly investing overseas, cutting time and cost out of ...
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ArticleJapan's Hitachinaka port opens terminal for high and heavy moves
The port of Hitachinaka has opened a new terminal for the handling of construction and mining machinery as part of a major expansion programme for the port. The terminal is owned by the Ibaraki prefectural government.The port is around 100km north-east of Tokyo and located near a production hub for ...
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ArticleExplosion puts the brakes on Toyota assembly
Parts supply to Toyota’s plants in Japan has been disrupted once again, this time by an explosion at one of its suppliers there.The explosion happened on Monday (May 30th) at a facility in Kariya, Aichi prefecture run by brake manufacturer Aisin Advics, which is majority-owned by tier one component supplier ...
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ArticleNissan buys $2.2 billion stake in Mitsubishi
Nissan is buying a 34% share in rival Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi for ¥237 billion ($2.2 billion) and will extend the strategic alliance the companies have had for the past five years.The two carmakers have agreed to cooperate in areas including purchasing, common vehicle platforms, technology sharing, joint plant activity and ...
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Toyota still dealing with parts disruption in Japan
Toyota is still facing disruption in the supply of parts to its assembly facilities in Japan, following the Kumamoto earthquakes last month.The carmaker said this week that production would continue at all assembly lines in Japan to May 21st but that beyond that “decisions regarding production will continue to be ...
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ArticleJapanese shockwaves reach North America
The earthquakes that hit the Kumamoto region of Japan’s Kyushu island on April 15th-16th, knocking out production at assembly and supplier plants across the country, have now also affected automotive production in North America.GM has suspended production for two weeks (from Monday April 25th) at four of its high volume ...
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ArticleNEC and DMIC Trust set up Indian container tracking service
Japanese IT and communications provider NEC Corporation has established a 50-50 joint venture with the DMIC Trust, which oversees infrastructure developments on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, to provide a new container location service.DMICDC Logistics Data Services will provide shippers and transport operators with logistics visualisation services enabling them to perform ...
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ArticleKumamoto earthquakes disrupt vehicle assembly across Japan
[Updated 21st April] The two earthquakes that hit the Japanese island of Kyushu last week have halted operations at assembly facilities across the country, including Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi, and dramatically affected the tier supplier base in the region. The first earthquake, which was a magnitude 6.5, hit the ...
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ArticleToyota supplier restarts production at explosion-hit plant
Toyota-affiliated Aichi Steel resumed operations at its Chita plant in central Japan on Monday (March 21st) after a two-month outage for repairs.The plant was hit by an explosion in January that affected the No.2 Bar Mill Shop building and as a consequence of the resulting cut in steel components, Toyota ...