Trump says buy Toyotas
Donald Trump has urged US troops to purchase vehicles produced by Toyota after long complaining about the lack of American vehicles sold in Japan, and has dubbed Ford’s F-150 as a “hot truck”.
The president told US soldiers on his trip to Asia to buy the Japanese-made cars following his announcement that Toyota is set to construct factories “all over” the States.
“They’re going to be putting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of $10 billion,” the president told troops on October 28 while on-board the USS George Washington docked at Yokosuka naval base. “So that’s Toyota, so go out and buy a Toyota.”
Sanae Takaichi, who has only been Japan’s new prime minister for a week, has rolled out the red carpet for the US president
Before meeting with her, Trump saw an American-made Ford F-150 a nod to an idea recently floated by Japan’s government to buy a fleet of the utes, pictured above. The gesture went down well with the president. “She has good taste,” Trump told reporters. “That’s a hot truck.”
Japan exported more than 1.37 million vehicles to the US last year and cars are the country’s top export to America. On the flipside, American cars have proved a tough sell in Japan, which imported fewer than 17,000 units there in 2024.
Experts point to Japan’s narrower roads and smaller parking spaces as one of the reasons why large, heavy-duty trucks are unpopular there. Those who can afford more expensive foreign models tend to go for compact or medium-size vehicles from Europe, such as BMWs and Volkswagens.
Except for US-produced Japanese cars such as those made by Honda, Mazda and Nissan, the top-selling American brand is Jeep, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.
Many US cars are left-hand drive, the opposite of Japan where expressway tolls are on the right side, for example. Lower mileage, and lack of maintenance and service networks, also help explain why American brands except Jeep have struggled in Japan.
The Japanese government has now been reviewing regulatory changes to permit the sale of US-made vehicles to be sold there without further testing. The country’s public and private sector are seeking to show co-operation with Washington to try to lessen the US trade deficit with Japan.
