Thread by @KawasakiKR11

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A little side thread on Japanese Auto industry as I keep on posting threads on Panasonic & #Tesla. It’s useful to know who is allied w/ whom as we consider the Pana-Tesla relationship. For non-auto ppl, because it’s all common knowledge for auto ppl.

$TSLA $TSLAQ

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As a major supplier of navigation & auto infotainment equipment (among other parts), Pana has relationship w/ all Japanese Auto co’s. Toyota remains the closest ally, although Pana also works w/ Honda & others on Automotive batteries.

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Just like its US & European counterparts, consolidation of Auto industry is slowly happening. There are currently 8 major auto co’s based in Japan, all in top 30 in the world by sales #.

oica.net/wp-content/upl…

Let’s look at the current state of affairs.

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Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi:

Strongest alliance controlled by Renault.

Renault owns 43.7% of Nissan.
Nissan owns 15% of Renault.
Nissan owns 34% of Mitsubishi

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Toyota, Subaru, Mazda

Toyota owns 16.8% of Subaru and 5% of Mazda. This alliance would likely be stronger, if not for the Japanese anti-trust laws. Japan does have functional anti-trust laws, and Toyota already owns 30+% market share in Japan.

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Honda has remained independent thus far. If any Japanese auto co were to form a "voluntary" alliance w/ non-Japanese auto co, Honda may be the most likely candidate. However, no indication any significant alliance is imminent.

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Suzuki remains independent, but has historically been close to Toyota. There are signs they’ll get closer still. If Suzuki joins Toyota, Subaru & Mazda, the alliance will be ~2x the size of GM by sales volume!

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Isuzu, now mostly a commercial vehicle maker, is close to Toyota, and was partially owned by Toyota until very recently. As the smallest of Japanese auto co's, they may not remain independent much longer. (see Mitsubisi-Fuso, for example)

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In summary, it looks like (world-wide sales ranking; vehicle sales in 2016):

Renault-Nissan-Mistubishi (#9, #6, #21; 3.4M + 5.6M + 1.2M = 10.2M)

Toyota-Subaru-Mazda (#1, #23, #16; 10M + 1M + 1.6M = 12.6M)

Honda (#7; 4.5M)

Suzuki (#11, 3M)

Isuzu (#27, 0.7M)

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As a reference; VW (#2, 10M), GM (#4, 7.8M), Ford (#5, 6.4M), FIAT (#8, 4.7M)

I expect Isuzu to join an alliance soon (no idea which). The fate of Suzuki likely depends on the growth of Indian market, where Suzuki is dominant.

Fin/

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ps. Regular programming on Pana-#Tesla saga will resume tomorrow.