Emerging Market Strategies in Compact Vehicles: The Case of Japanese Automakers

Amid globalization and the internationalization of Japanese companies, this chapter examines the strategies used by Japanese automakers in low-income countries. In developing countries, automobile manufacturers have to develop compact and low-cost vehicles in order to cater to demand. While Korean and Chinese automobile makers have aggressively entered into the compact vehicle segments in these low-income markets, Japanese manufacturers have delayed the development of such vehicles. This chapter considers how Japanese manufacturers might penetrate these markets. In order to examine what sort of marketing strategies might work, this chapter incorporates comparative and historical data and looks at the current status of compact vehicle segments in developing countries.