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Japan may aid carmakers facing U.S. tariff threat

TOKYO — Japan is considering giving carmakers fiscal support including tax breaks to offset the impact from trade frictions with the United States and a sales-tax hike planned for next year, government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Going into a second round of trade talks with the United States on Sept. 21, Japan is hoping to avert steep tariffs on its car exports and fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement that could put it under pressure to open politically sensitive markets, like agriculture. "If the trade talks pile pressure on Japan's car exports, we would need to consider measures to support the auto industry," a ruling party official said on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter. The auto industry accounts for about 20 percent of Japan's overall output and around 60-70 percent of the country's trade surplus with the United States, making it vulnerable to U.S. action against Japanese exports. Japan's biggest automakers and components suppliers fear they could take a significant hit if Washington follows through on proposals to hike tariffs on autos and auto parts to 25 percent. Policymakers also worry that an increase in the sales tax from 8 percent to 10 percent planned for October 2019, could cause a slump in sales of big-ticket items such as cars and home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has twice postponed the tax hike after the last increase from 5 percent in 2014 dealt a blow to private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy. To prevent a pullback in demand after the tax hike, the government may consider large fiscal spending later when it draws up its budget for next year, government sources said. "One option may be to greatly reduce or abolish the automobile purchase tax," one of the government sources said. The government is also considering cuts in the automobile tax and automobile weight tax to help car buyers, the source added. Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa and Tetsushi KajimotoRelated Video: Image Credit: Getty Government/Legal Isuzu Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota Trump Trump tariffs trade

Suzuki heads rolling over fuel economy scandal

Suzuki Motor Corporation executives admitted last month that the company had been falsifying fuel-economy tests for some of its vehicles. Today, it was announced that chairman Osamu Suzuki will not become CEO and executive vice president Osamu Honda will step down from his position at the next shareholder meeting, which takes place June 29. Executive bonuses for 2015 will also be eliminated or cut in half. The company is also promising to change its corporate culture so as to allow whistle blowers to get their messages heard. "Suzuki has a top-down culture and it's been difficult for voices from lower down to go to the management," Toshihiro Suzuki (Osamu's son) told reporters, according to Bloomberg. Both Suzuki family members will take a pay cut for the last half of 2016 (Osamu at 40 percent, Toshihiro at 30). Over 2 million Suzuki vehicles were involved in the fuel economy fakery. Japan's transport ministry is taking a closer look at company-submitted data after Mitsubishi and then Suzuki were found to have misled regulators and the public. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Suzuki Fuel Efficiency resignation osamu suzuki

Next Suzuki SX4 spotted again

Thanks to a sketch of the Suzuki S-Cross concept, we can already see the styling direction that the next-generation SX4 will take, and Suzuki is still hard at work on the production version of the car as evidenced by this latest batch of spy shots. These photos look almost identical to those captured back in July, but we see a little more detail at the rear of the car and get a better idea of the next SX4's proportions.
With the baggy camouflage lifted up at the rear of this prototype, we can see that the SX4 replacement has a very Mazda-chic look to it with downward-angled taillights that stretch into the liftgate. Aside from this, the big news is that we're finally getting a sense of the new SX4's size. Suzuki's press release attached to the Paris-bound S-Cross sketch said that the SX4 replacement would be growing to the compact segment rather than being a subcompact like the current car. Recent reports indicate that the next version of this car will be sized closer to the Grand Vitara, and in these pictures, you can definitely see how much the car has grown.
Still unknown is when we can expect to see the production version of the new SX4, or what will be inside it (available turbo power?), but hopefully Suzuki will not delay things like it did with the Kizashi and its numerous concepts.