We can hear Carlos now, "We don't need no stinking kei cars!" According to Japan Today, Ghosn et all don't see a need to build or design their own kei cars. Instead of going through the hassle of building their own tiny car for the markets that consume them, Nissan will still prefer to sell another OEM's product as their own. Nissan currently sells two kei cars designed by Suzuki and Mitsubishi, the Moco and Otti respectively.
Obviously, kei cars, or keijidōsha, are popular in Japan. Mitsubishi and Suzuki already produce very respectable kei car designs, why would Nissan even bother when it can focus its design and manufacturing energies on what the rest of the world scrambles for, like compacts? We've never known Ghosn for doing something that wasn't absolutely necessary.
[Source: Japan Today via Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
anahit @ Oct 27th 2006 4:16PM
The picture looks like a still from "Citizen Kane". Perhaps all Ghosn wants is that little red Citroen from his youth.
dejal @ Oct 27th 2006 5:48PM
I'm thinking Mussolini.
http://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/images/1930_MUSSOLINI.jpg
UpIrons @ Oct 27th 2006 6:53PM
I am not familiar with what a "Kei" car is exactly. Can someone enlighten me?
Bobby @ Oct 27th 2006 8:07PM
Consider yourself edumacated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keicar
Ebm14 @ Oct 28th 2006 2:25PM
Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys says, " is stupid a different kind of smart"?
I guess I can't figure out why somebody at the top of a respected company would make an idiotic decision of trying to save money and sell two cars from companies that already sell them. If you don't make them then why sell them?
www.petshopboys.co.uk