Yomiuri: Japanese car boom hits Russia
A car carrying a sumo wrestler and geisha speed along with Mt. Fuji in the background--it is a popular TV ad aired in Russia for the Lancer, a Mitsubishi Motors Corp. compact car. Japanese vehicles, including the Lancer, are catching on in Russia, as income levels rise in that country...In March, Russian dealer Rolf Holdings sent 80 officials to Japan. When they met MMC President Osamu Masuko, they enthusiastically said in broken Japanese, "kuruma kudasai," literally meaning "give me a car" but what they really wanted was to buy the company's cars...In relation to this is a Russian interest in Japanese pop culture, including anime. As Hayao Miyazaki films and Japanese cuisine have become popular in recent years, Japanese cars became a status symbol, according to automakers. The Japan External Trade Organization says Japanese cars have established "overwhelming credibility" among Russian consumers. Meanwhile, the market share of Russian domestic cars, which are of course cheaper than imported cars, dropped from more than 90 percent in 2001 to less than 50 percent five years later...more...
