President Donald Trump urged American troops to buy cars from Japanese manufacturer Toyota after long complaining about the lack of American vehicles sold in Japan.
Trump, who has long promoted America First, told U.S. soldiers during his trip to Asia to buy the Japanese-made cars following his announcement that Toyota is set to invest $10 billion to build manufacturing plants “all over” the U.S.
“They’re going to be putting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of $10 billion,” the president told troops Tuesday aboard the USS George Washington, docked at the Yokosuka naval base. “So that’s Toyota, so go out and buy a Toyota.”
Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has only been in the post for a week but has rolled out the red carpet for Trump on a charm offensive.
Before sitting down with Takaichi, Trump was greeted by the sight of an enormous American-made Ford F-150 truck, a nod to an idea recently floated by Japan’s government to buy a fleet of the vehicles.
The gesture went down well with the president. “She has good taste,” Trump told reporters on the journey to Asia. “That’s a hot truck.”
Japan exported over 1.37 million vehicles to the U.S. last year, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, and cars are the country’s top export to America. On the flip side, American cars have proved a tough sell in Japan, which imported fewer than 17,000 American cars last year, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.
Experts have cited Japan’s narrower roads and smaller parking lot spaces as one of the reasons why large, heavy-duty-style trucks do not sell as well.
Those who can afford more expensive foreign cars tend to go for compact or medium-size vehicles from Europe, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi.
Except for American-produced Japanese cars such as Honda, Mazda and Nissan, the top-selling American brand is Jeep, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.
Many American cars have their steering on the left side, the opposite of the standard right-side steering in Japan, where expressway tolls are on the right side, for instance. Lower mileage and lack of maintenance and service networks also help explain why American brands except for Jeep have struggled in Japan.
“Why don't American cars sell well in Japan? Because they lack understanding for road conditions and housing situations, as well as energy conservation,” former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament in April.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
