Hans Greimel

<p>Lexus floats a new boat: the LY 680 luxury yacht with a sticker topping $5 million.</p>

<p>Nissan is stepping up partnership announcements ahead of its new three-year midterm plan. CEO Makoto Uchida wants to unveil the new roadmap by March 31.Collaboration with other companies is expected to be a key element.</p>

<p>The new EV drivetrains developed with Toyota Group supplier Aisin will be lightweight, compact and designed for Subaru’s rugged, all-weather driving signature. They arrive in the late 2020s.</p>

<p>Toyota buys out its longtime partner Panasonic from a key battery-making joint venture as the Japanese carmaker tightens its grip on production ahead of a major EV ramp up.</p>

<p>Toyota is doubling down on internal combustion by testing technology that sucks carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as the car drives.</p>

<p>Japan’s carmakers are tackling seven key challenges to reboot their global competitiveness as the country’s auto industry comes under siege from new technologies and new rivals from China and beyond.</p>

<p>Many of Japan’s automakers are booking big profits on hybrids today to pay for the shift to EVs tomorrow.</p>

<p>Nissan’s nascent U.S. revival hit a snag with slumping revenue per vehicle as the Japanese carmaker struggles to quickly supply demand for affordable cars and electrified hybrids.</p>

<p>Industry optimism in the meteoric rise of EVs is suddenly wobbly. And Japan’s biggest carmaker doesn’t look so foolish after all for being circumspect and cautious about EV demand.</p>

<p>Toyota Motor Corp. stormed ahead to record sales and production in 2023 as the Japanese auto juggernaut put the microchip shortage behind it and ramped up factories.</p>

<p>Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda says the Toyota Group of affiliated companies has lost its way and needs to get back to basics amid a series of misconduct scandals in Japan.</p>

<p>After a half-decade hiatus, Mazda is reestablishing a standalone R&D group to develop greener rotary engines for use in electrified or hydrogen vehicles in the Japanese carmaker’s push to cut carbon emissions.</p>

<p>Among Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida multiple challenges: China, cost control and supplier partnerships. The key will be jettisoning old ways and adapting to change.</p>

<p>Japan’s homegrown automakers were out in full force for the Tokyo Auto Salon with funky new concepts and reimagined road cars. Here’s a look at what went down.</p>

<p>Nissan wants to boost capacity utilization at its new Intelligent Factory for producing electric vehicles after a painfully slow ramp-up of the Ariya electric crossover. The Japanese carmaker is considering a new model and gigacasting.</p>

<p>Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro sits down with Automotive News in a Talk from the Top interview to discuss record U.S. sales, technical details of the Japanese carmaker’s upcoming EVs and plans to cooperate with Toyota on electrical and software architectures, among other topics.</p>

<p>Electric vehicle latecomer Mazda is still wary of EV demand as it cashes in on internal combustion to power record U.S. sales, but CEO Masahiro Moro gives new details about the Japanese carmaker’s next-generation EV tech and envisioned lineup of eight EVs for 2030.</p>

<p>Japan’s automotive industry has tapped the chairman of Isuzu trucks to replace Akio Toyoda as its next industry lobby leader after Toyoda’s unprecedented three terms.</p>

<p>The first batch of solid-state batteries for Toyota will likely be enough to supply only a couple thousand EVs, and “mass production” starting in 2030 will support just over 10,000. The figures underscore the limited initial impact of solid-state technology, despite its promise.</p>

<p>Mazda expects high-margin crossovers such as the CX-50 and CX-90 to power it to record profits this fiscal year and all-time high sales in the U.S.</p>