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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

Self-driving Mitsubishis could use adapted missile technology

Mitsubishi is a big company made up of many different divisions and subsidiaries. Yeah, we tend to focus on Mitsubishi Motors, but the sprawling company also manufactures steel, builds televisions – we all knew someone in the 1990s with a hulking Mitsubishi "big screen" – and even screws together fighter jets and the missiles they carry. According to a report from Automotive News Europe, Mitsubishi Motors is hoping to leverage the capabilities of its sister companies to catch up to the competition and get driverless cars on the road by 2020. That means adapting millimeter-wave radars, sensors, and cameras built for missiles to automotive uses. As Mitsubishi sees it, having the development work done on this tech – albeit for a radically different application – gives it a big advantage over the competition. "All we have to do is to put together the components that we already have," Katsumi Adachi, the chief engineer for Mitsu's auto equipment division, told ANE. "None of our competitors have such a wide array of capabilities." As ANE goes on to explain with the help of Tokyo-based IHS analyst Goro Tanamachi, this is no plug-and-play application. That's largely because of the different economics of the automotive and defense industries. In the former, the bean counters have a tremendous say. There are cuts and cost reductions and all sorts of other stuff designed to maximize profit margins. The defense industry, though, is the land of sparing no expense – that, according to Tanamachi-san, could make adapting missile tech to autonomous vehicles a possible, but potentially very pricey proposition. "Cost-cutting requests are much more severe in autos than aerospace," Tanamachi-san told ANE. "I wonder if it's possible for them to bring down the cost of the systems to the levels manufacturers can use for cheap, low-end cars." Related Video: X

Aggressive new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Concept-S coming to Paris

Already a hit in the rest of the world, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid is not coming to the US until late next year. That gives Mitsu plenty of time to upgrade the SUV to the next-generation model, and we might be getting a glimpse of what the US-speck Outlander PHEV will look like at the Paris Motor Show in early October. Take a look at the new "Sporty and Sophisticated" Outlander PHEV Concept-S that Mitsubishi is teasing in two dark images today. Mitsubishi says that what's being teased here is simply part of a "special package" that "magnifies the Outlander PHEV's unique driving experience." But, the last time Mitsubishi showed off an Outlander PHEV concept – at the 2012 Paris show – the production model ended up looking quite a bit like the show version. With aggressive lines all over the front fascia and bold strokes across the rear, the new concept certainly looks a lot better than the current model. We don't expect all of this auto show pizazz to make the final cut, but we like the direction that Mitsubishi is going here, extending the design language from the Outlander XR PHEV and GC-PHEV concepts from last year's Tokyo show. We should know more when we get to Paris on October 2nd. Until then, click on the images to get a better view and check out Mitsubishi's press release below. Mitsubishi Motors Europe issued the following news release at 6:00 pm on September 2, 2014. Paris, September 2, 2014 - Two years after it premiered its successful Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid electric Twin Motor SUV/crossover at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has elected the "Mondial de L'Automobile" again – this time to unveil another PHEV vehicle: Outlander PHEV Concept-S. Sporty & Sophisticated The Outlander PHEV Concept-S is a concept model MMC proposes as a special package of the Outlander PHEV production model that has a refined interior and exterior design that magnifies the Outlander PHEV's unique driving experience. The Outlander PHEV Concept-S takes "Sporty and Sophisticated" as the theme for its design. This refined design expresses the unique combination of spirited 4x4 performance from its twin-motor PHEV system, soothing silent running, and superior on-road performance.