As it was expected, Vladimir Putin has signed the governmental regulation on the increase of import duty on used cars to Russia. The regulation comes into effect in one month since the day of its official promulgation. It is informed that this duty is constituted for the period of 9 months concerning import of automotive engineering, trucks and automobiles.

Import duty on used cars aged from 1 to 5 years rises from 25 to 30 %.

For those who have been importing, you might notice it says 5 not 7 years. Here more on that:

The most disputable question is reduction of maximal import age of cars from 7 to 5. Cars over 5 years will be imposed from 2.5 to 5.8 Euro per 1 ccm import duty. Taking into consideration governmental measures taken on prohibition of car bodies with following parts it is evident that automobile market of Primorye will have hard times soon.

On the positive side, it looks unlikely that RHD (ie Japanese) vehicles will be banned. It is being discussed, but most authorities agree that to ban them would cause to much havoc in the Far East regions of Russia:

…the State Duma authorities discuss the question on imposition of technical regulations on prohibition of right-hand drive cars. But according to the talks of the governor of Primorsky region Sergey Darkin and Secretary of Industry and Trade of Russian Federation Viktor Hrystenko, it is unlikely to happen.

- Source: Vladivostok News

Yep, that’s right. You can pop over to your favorite exporter/auction agent and find a number of “used” 2008 (and soon 2009) GT-Rs. We call them “used” because they’ve been purchased once by the person putting it on market, not because they’ve been driven a significant distance. One such example is a car on JCarBuys: a 2008 Nissan GT-R Black Edition with Bose sound system. Here’s some details:

In the first ten months this year, the number of used cars from import rose 105%, to more than 205,000 units…

As you can see, the eastern European nation is starving for affordable vehicles and while brand-new models remains prohibitively high, used car imports are filling all the holes in the social landscape. While nearly all of these cars are coming from Western Europe, there may be room for Japanese exporters to find sales direct or indirectly from this situation. While it may not be affordable to export cars to Romania (worth finding out for those looking to expand), we can expect the need of replacement cars in those nations that are selling to Romania. Maybe we’ll see increased imports for Ireland/UK/Netherlands as a knock-on effect.

Since it is no easy thing to sell such equipment alone, you will find several auto auctions selling industrial equipment on the side. In addition to the general vehicle auctions, there are also specialized auctions that focus just on industrial and construction equipment. Often these auctions use the parade auction format (cars are “paraded” in front of buyers and auctioned individually) due to the size of the vehicles and the money involved.

The quality of these vehicles can vary, but you will see many that are in great condition (for their use). Those who are serious about buying used large equipment should really consider buying from Japan. Many importers (from Canada to East African nations to South-East Asian to South American countries) purchase from Japanese auctions because even after shipping costs and other fees involved, you will find better quality for a cheaper compared to purchasing from a local market.

To give an example, here is a 2001 Kobelco excavator currently available for export on JCarBuys Stock:

For example, JCarBuys has a 2000 Toyota Regius Super GL with some photos available:

When you are looking for quality used vans and cargo/people movers, Japan offers many vehicles of various sizes, uses, and designs. Japanese used car exporters are often more than willing to help you purchase such vehicles.

To explain, ForiSearch takes one language input and translates it into a second language, then it searches Google, Yahoo!, or MSN images searches for images with such text.

LANGUAGE #1 > translates to LANGUAGE #2 > search GOOGLE, YAHOO!, OR MSN for related images.

It is very simple and useful for Japanese used car exporters and importers to use. There are many applications to use it with. For example, an Importer can search for a particular word and get 1. the word in Japanese, and 2. images to confirm the translation is correct.

To show: I typed in “rust” with Japanese selected as which language I wanted to search in. I got さび (if you see question marks, don’t worry, they mean rust). And to make sure my translation is right, I see a number of images with metal having rust forming.

Don’t worry if some of the images aren’t exactly what you are looking for. Sometimes that is because in the other language, the word has more than one meaning. Just as long as you get a majority of the photos of what you are looking for, you should have the right translation.

Link: ForiSearch

UPDATE: You can also search videos in Youtube in foreign languages!

Once again, the Russian government is considering sharply raising Import Duty on used cars to stem the tide of second-hand vehicles entering Russia. Consistently for the past few years Russia has been the top Japanese used car importer, where even last year alone they imported 441,539 used cars and this year looks set to clearly surpass that amount by the end of this year. Being that they import more than four times the amount of automobiles than the next biggest Japanese used car importing country, having Russia exports restricted can hurt this export industry.

The cause of them thinking about raising duties no doubt has multiple factors. For one, Russia has a long history of heavily favoring Lada (a Russia car manufacture) by keeping competition costly with high import costs. Another factors include the desire to get foreign car manufactures to set up plants within Russia (providing Russians jobs), cut the amount of money leaving Russia, and to be less dependent on the used car market.

On the bright side for Japan’s exporters, the idea of raise used car import duty is not new. In fact it has been discussed many times, but dropped when the far-east Russians protested. This is because the majority of the far east Russia relies on Japanese and Korean used cars which are affordable for those living in that market.

Source – Forbes

For those who are unfamiliar with a somewhat common terminology, not all Integras are Type R. Type R refers to the “Racing” type of a vehicles (same as Civic Type R), which involves the car’s weight being reduced by taking anything unnecessary out and also using more performance-orientated parts for vital systems. The other way to look at it is that a Type R car is generally more uncomfortable, noisier, and much less “options” that would otherwise weigh down the car. As an example, here is a 2000 Honda Integra Type R:

When considering if there is a market for these types of vehicles in your country, you must also consider import rules concerning these cars. Often, they are using after market parts instead of the standard stock parts and because of that, they may not qualify to come into your country. On the other hand some countries don’t mind you import special vehicles as long as they pass safety and emission tests (such as Australia).

Even if you don’t particularly like these types of cars as an importer, maybe there is niche market where you are for these types of vehicles. Another benefit is the cars generally produce very passionate crowds that are willing to go extra lengths to purchase such a vehicle.

Related Pages:
Car Watch: Mercedes-Benz A-class
Car Watch: Toyota Landcruiser Prado

It’s not a beast. It’s the complete opposite. Maybe you or your customers are looking from something that is effecient and fitting for a city. Having such a small car (although not a Kei) is a big benefit in many ways. Also, perhaps you can find the European look stylish to your taste. However it is, if you or your customers are liking this, don’t forget that you can get them in Japan. Japan has both LHD and RHDs of these models (although more often you will see RHDs).

To give an example, our friends at JCarBuys have a 2007 Toyota Landcruiser Prado available on stock. Here are some photos of how it looks:

As you can see, the Prado is very attractive and popular with importers in many countries that desire or need these types of vehicles. They also come with a lot of equipment. Here a list of some things you can see found in this type of car:

automatic air conditioning (climate control), anti-lock brakes, alloy wheels, power steering, power windows, sun roof, supplemental restraint system (air bags), four wheel drive, cd player, television, navigation, leather seats, stereo, tiptronic, 7-seats, and more.

Remember when your looking at different years in the Land Cruiser Prado model range, there are different different model generations:

• First came the LC 70-Light series built on the J7 platform which was between 1984 and 1990
• Second came the LC 70-Series also built on the J7 platform from 1990 to 1996
• The LC 70-Series was replace by the LC 90-Series (J9 platform) during 1996 which last till 2002
• Currently, the LC 120-Series has been in production on the J12 platform since 2003

You might want to consider such a vehicle for you and your customers if small, classy SUVs are popular in your country.

Information source – Wikipedia

Mongolia has been experiencing all time high car import levels these recent years. And as more young men and women come to driving age the expect a very large increase of drivers in the next 5 years. Unfortunately, the infrastructure in Mongolia is not prepared to handle the new massive load and Ulaanbaatar’s (the capitol) roads are already being pushed to their limits.

Mongolian car traders and exporters alike may want to complete deals before the proposal gets approved in Parliament and new import taxes rates are implemented (possibly).

Source- UB Post

Data has not been yet produced (we’ll have to wait about a month), but has it been affecting your sells/purchases? While nations connect more directly to Western nations haves seen some fall, the are also many nations that continue to experience growth. Please let us know how your nation is doing in the comments section below.

Overall Used Passenger Exports from January 2008 to June 2008

Car Units: 579,582
Value: ¥352,310,171,000
(or at today’s exchange rate: $3,249,516,575)

Over three billion (milliard) US Dollars! That’s a whole lot of money for used cars alone.

Top 10 Destinations

Rank Country      | Car Units | Value(Japanese Yen)
  1: RUSSIA       | 260,008   | 163,251,031,000
  2: CHILE        | 55,461    | 11,744,217,000
  3: UAE          | 37,167    | 9,321,093,000
  4: NEW ZEALAND  | 35,640    | 17,991,266,000
  5: MONGOLIA     | 14,322    | 4,342,595,000
  6: KENYA        | 13,013    | 7,342,810,000
  7: SOUTH AFRICA | 12,904    | 3,545,133,000
  8: SINGAPORE    | 12,894    | 21,078,435,000
  9: MALAYSIA     | 12,746    | 25,317,559,000
  10: BANGLADESH  | 10,208    | 10,706,168,000

Russia remains #1 way ahead of everyone as Japan is supplying their used car market rapid expansion. Others continue to remain strong, although old partner New Zealand has slowed down its imports since the new emission regulations have taken affect. Newcomers to the Top 10, Mongolia and Bangladesh, have seen recent sharp rises due to mostly political and somewhat economical changes. They’ve replaced Pakistan (19th) – which has gone through extreme political unrest, and United Kingdom (11th) which has seen reduced demand that is possibly related to economic downturn/unrest.

Together, the top 10 represent roughly 80% of the used passenger vehicles exported from Japan and 78% of the total value of the cars. Thus the top 10 importers hold a landslide majority of sales Japanese used car exporters have made.

Top 20 & 50

Adding the next 10 (Top 20) would make it 90% of car units and 88.5% of total cash amount. Counting the top 50 together will make it roughly 99% of both car units sold and total value.

Draw you own conclusions. The data is quite clear, and if your an exporter, you should have a clear idea what to do. If you want to look at the full data, you can do so by going to:

Japanese Used Passenger Car Export Statistics : January 2008 to June 2008

Note: Car Units and Value data for each country comes from Japan Customs Statistics Office. All other data is calculated by me. Percentages and VPUs are rounded to simplify view.

HOWEVER… Importing diesel commercial vehicles is legal and still being done.  Most importing is done through  the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the vehicles are converted to LHD.

Company: ORIX
General Website:
Locations: Kobe, Atsugi, Nagoya, Fukuoka
Auctions Held: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

In continuation to our series on different auto auctions in Japan, I would like to present ORIX Rental Service Auctions. ORIX is a major rental company in Japan and Asia. Like most rental companies, cars must constantly be replaced with new, more attractive. So you might wonder where that car you rented a few years went? Well most like for ORIX cars, they were probably auctioned off to smart buyers.

One benefit of buying from a rental company’s auction is that you know all the cars are from the same owner. That means there is a roughly the same owner’s care to all the cars presented. Also, the cars would’ve been reguarly checked and serviced by their mechanics. As a rental company, they will want to recover as much value from the car as possible and most likely wouldn’t neglect the cars condition.

One thing to note is that this auction is “Nyuusatsu”. That means you just place a bid once instead of “battling” your way up. All offers are collected and the person with the highest bid wins. This is different from the typical, but it has some benefits. For example, the agent is not wasting time on the actual bidding process and can spend more time on other things like inspecting.

Buying from rental company auctions, such as ORIX’s, has many benefital aspects. Having your exporting agent able to check their auction would be useful, especially for cars and trucks you would expect in a rental fleet.

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 2 – JAA
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 3 – Zip
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 4 – AAAi / ARAI
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 5 – Bay Auc
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 6 – TAA

Just at the end of last month a Supreme Court ruling ruled in favor of the ban. But senators are still defying the ruling they feel is wrong. The problem is that the ban is an Executive Order (EO) made by the President rather than a bill/law passed by the Senate. The senators in objection feel that this area the EO affects is the Senate’s territory.

We must wait to see what will be the result of this: Either the ban stays and questionable import practices are stopped or the ban might be lifted. It’s question of who has the most authority.

Source – Inquirer.net

The second policy that help increase trade was a move by the government to get old cars off the road and replacing them with new, more recent models. Owners of cars that are older than 15 years were offered money to replacing their vehicle with more environmentally friendly cars. People could get between 256 Euro and 1,708 Euro depending on what they were withdrawing from registry or how effiecent a car they were buying.

The Cyprus government find this scheme as a huge sucess for the country and the environment. They are looking forward to possibly continuing the scheme in 2009.

Source – Cyprus Mail

First, let me express some problems you might face:

• The model name in Japan might be different from the one where you live.
• The car seems to be sold in other layout (coupe, sedan/saloon, etc.) than you want.
• You don’t know if the “year” is the manufacture year or first registration year.

These problem can be answered by knowing just a small piece of information. For example, knowing the car chassis number can help you know the particular model, it’s years of production (for that version), and what layout that car is. This number is important because it only gets changed when significant changes are made to a model.

For example, a Honda EK9 is a Civic Type R 3-door hatchback produced between 1997 and 2000. The EP3 is the next generation Civic Type R that was made from 2001 to 2005. On the other hand a Honda EU is a Civic 5-door hatchback built between 2001-2005.

Here are some useful websites to go to:

Wikipedia – Provides information on alternative names for cars, shows the various layouts are car can be found, provides model chassis codes, and other multi-national information. Unfortuantely it is not perfect because of the heavy United States influnce but it still has plenty of usefulness.

Cars-Directory.net – One of many sites that give detailed information on particular models. Also has many pictures available to look at and compare.

Do you have other suggestions? or do you have other questions on how to find the right vehicle? Please write them in the Comments section below!

So how does this related to Japanese used car exports and the Bahamas? Well it might not be important to all exporters, but there are some that do export to the Bahamas. For those who do and appreciate small country news, the Bahamas might have to relax it tariffs if they don’t find a good excuse (and maneuvering) on why they should maintain their high tariffs for transport sector imports.

Because 40% of the Bahamas’ imports are transport related (new and used cars, parts, and fuel), they’ve grown used to the extra revenue and need to keep the budget balanced. WTO says this is violation of free trade and an act of protectionism. If the Bahamas’ government doesn’t make a reason to keep high taxes (such as for “enviornmental reasons”), they may be forced to reduce tariff rates for imports.

Official Website: taaweb.jp
Established: 1967
Locations: Chubu, Fukushima (Tohoku), Hiroshima, Kanto, Kinki, Kyushyu, South Kyushyu (Kagoshima; Minami Kyushyu), Okinawa, Yokohama
Auctions Held: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays

TAA (Toyota Auto Auction) is another type of auto auction found in Japan. This group of 9 auction house was created for Toyota dealers to sell any unwanted cars, such as older cars customers traded in while buying from the dealer. Not only are there such auctions available for Toyota dealers, but there is HAA (Honda), SAA (Suzuki), SUAA (Subaru), NAA/NTAA (Nissan), MAA (Mitsubishi), and IMA (Isuzu).

One advantage TAA has over most of it competing auto auctions is that they publish higher quality images of vehicles from the inspection. While most auto auctions have 300px by 225px photos of the cars, TAA saves photos at 640px by 480px. So in a real way TAA gives auction bidders a “clearer” picture of what condition the car is before the auction begins.

More information is available on the Japanese website: TAA Web (Japanese)

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 2 – JAA
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 3 – Zip
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 4 – AAAi / ARAI
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 5 – Bay Auc

As many Japanese used car exporters are aware, brand new vehicles are quickly registered and de-registered to circumevent Japanese laws forbidding anyone besides the manufacturer from exporting new vehicles. Technically, in the eyes of the law these are no longer brand new vehicles, just new or “as-new” vehicles. Why this matter to Bangladesh NBR is that they make 50% higher import duty on cars imported as new.

To counter this, it is proposed for the new budget that for a vehicle to be considered a “reconditioned” car, it must have a space 365 days between registration and deregistration and have clocked at least 1,000 km of mileage. They hope this will close the loop hole.

It’s not all bad news for importers though. Also in the proposed budget, the government will reduce supplementary duties from 60 percent to 20 percent on import of ordinary non-luxurious microbuses with and engine size between 1500 to 1800 CC which are used for transportation of industrial raw materials and/or passengers.

Source – The New Nation

According to The Irish Revenue Commissioner’s Leaflet:

New Tax Regime

From 1 July 2008, VRT payable on category A vehicles will no longer be based on the engine size but rather on the level of CO2 emissions from the car. Linking the VRT rates to the level CO2 emissions will mean that individuals purchasing cleaner, low emission cars will pay less VRT while those opting to purchase higher emitting vehicles will pay more.

A seven-band CO2 emission system will apply. VRT will now be charged as a percentage of the OMSP (Open Market Selling Price) in accordance with the following table:

CO2 Emissions (CO2g/km)	VRT Rates
0 – 120g	14% of OMSP
More than 120g/km up to and including140g/km	16% of OMSP
More than 140g/km up to and including 155g/km	20% of OMSP
More than 155g/km up to and including 170g/km	24% of OMSP
More than 170g/km up to and including 190g/km	28% of OMSP
More than 190g/km up to and including 225g/km	32% of OMSP
More than 225g/km	36% of OMSP

Importers of Japanese used cars must have the CO2 Emissions levels declared on their Export or Deregistration Certificate, or have a printout emissions certificate for your particular model from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. If you don’t have proof, you will be charged the highest rate (36%) regardless of how efficient the car is.

Also, as an incentive to by eco-friendly cars, you can get reductions based the car age for hybrids. That is, the younger the car is, more money is deducted. Of course there is a minimum amount that still must be paid, but here are the discount rates:

Hybrid, flexible fuel and electric vehicles

The current relief of 50% reduction of the VRT payable on Hybrid and Flexi Fuel vehicles is withdrawn from 30 June 2008.

A VRT remission up to a maximum of €2,500 will be available on such cars registered between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2010.

This relief is limited, on a sliding scale, depending on the age of the vehicle. The scale is as follows:

Age of vehicle	Maximum amount which may be remitted or repaid
New vehicle, first registration	€2,500
Not a new vehicle but less than 2 years	€2,250
2 years or over but less than 3 years	€2,000
3 years or over but less than 4 years	€1,750
4 years or over but less than 5 years	€1,500
5 years or over but less than 6 years	€1,250
6 years or over but less than 7 years	€1,000
7 years or over but less than 8 years	€750
8 years or over but less than 9 years	€500
9 years or over but less than 10 years	€250
10 years or over	Nil

With effect from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010, series production electric vehicles and electric motorcycles are exempt from VRT.

Note: There is no change for Category B (crew cabs, etc.), Category C (commercial vehicles) or Category M (motorcycles – other than electric motorcycles).

-Source: Change to the Tax Base

• 20 per cent SD (Supplementary Duty) on vehicles of up to 1500cc
• 60 per cent SD on vehicles between 1,501 and 2,350cc
• 100 per cent SD on vehicles between 2,351cc and 3,500cc.

This rates are only applied to used, also called reconditioned, cars. It may change before the budget is put into effect as the Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA) argues it should be reduced.

BARVIDA believes that raise the taxes on reconditioned car imports will hold back the current progress the economy is experiencing. The connection is that many small and medium businesses rely on the cheaper used car imports to do their business. We will have to see what comes as most vehicles imported come from Japan.

- Source: The Daily Star

In good news, light cars over 20 years old are banned in the United Arab Emirates. This will push people to buy newer, better cars. And those vehicles can be from Japan.

Official Website: www.bay-auc.com
Founded: 1977; Established: 1982
Location: Osaka; Patners: MAA, SUAA
Auctions Held: Wednesday

Bay Auc is a well known auto auction in Japan. One particular advantage this auto auction has over many other auctions is its location. It is situated in an very good location in Osaka, one of the biggest international shipping ports of Japan. The city itself is second only to Tokyo in economical power. You will find that many Japanese used car exporters are either based in the Osaka area or heavily use the Osaka Port for shipping vehicles.

The car auction promises to exhibit at least 3,500 to 4,000 cars every Wednesday starting at 9 AM. It has two simultaneous auction “lanes” running at 400 images an hour. Auction lanes are where they have more than one car being auctioned at any moment. This makes getting through the thousands of cars possible. Bay Auc is not the biggest auction, but they do a good job and have many cars to go through.

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 2 – JAA
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 3 – Zip
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 4 – AAAi / ARAI

Before the tax wall to keep out old cars from Russia was at 7 years and older, now importers will need to pay an considerable more if the car exceeds 4 years of age. Currently, we don’t know what the exact rates table will be, but we’ll let you know when we do.

They argue the high demand that local vehicle producers couldn’t cope with a few years ago has dropped and there is no need for allowing older vehicles in for import. They also cite the fact that local producers have invested billions of rupees to increase their production rate. Since demand dropped and supplies have skyrocketed, they believe their local investment may become the losers if imports are allowed to continue.

The current rate of 83% – effective since April 22nd – was particularly effective at dropping business confidence given that it was put into effect on a one day notice. All previous agreements were charged the new rate despite the fact they were made well before anyone new of the new rate.

Luckily for importers and exporters alike, Vietnam not to long ago joined the WTO which put a ceiling on how much the tariff rate can go up. So importers shouldn’t expect more raise unless Vietnam plans to violate their WTO agreement.

In comparison, smaller vehicles and “performance” vehicles have been able to sustain sales. Smaller vehicles because they tend to be more fuel efficient. Sporty “performance” cars because most likely the average consumer for these types of vehicles aren’t concerned with rises in costs too much.

Used car exporters will want to focus more on offering smaller, fuel efficient cars to New Zealanders. Kei-class cars might even break out into main stream exports if fuel prices continue to rise.

Source: New Zealand Herald

Official Website: www.araiaa.jp
Established: 1920; Incorporated: 1956
Number of Auction Sites: 4
Auctions Held: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Locations: Bayside, Fukuoka, Oyama, Sendai

This auction company has two names attached to it which can be confusing. Don’t be mistaken, it is one company being referred to: ARAI. AAAi simply means “ARAI Auto Auction international”. They have this longer name because they are capable of directly shipping the vehicles from the auction. This can reduce you FOB costs if your export agent takes advantage of this offer.

ARAI is a very diversified auction group in that they have many specialised auction meetings. On Tuesdays they have two locations where they sell 2 wheelers (motorcycles and such), Bayside and Fukuoka, and one location, Sendai, that sells four wheelers (cars). On Thursdays, Oyama has a 4 wheeler (car) auction. On Fridays, Bayside then switches to also sell cars. Finally on Saturdays, Oyama opens up an auction called VT auction (Van & Truck) specialising in the larger vehicles of the market such as commercial vehicles.

ARAI Auto Auctions provides a large assortment of vehicles to choose from and somewhat sorts them out according to type. This is useful for your auction agent (your exporter) to organise his schedule better to fit more auctions in for you.

For more information about other Auto Auctions such as ARAI/AAAi, join our Newsletter.

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 2 – JAA
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 3 – Zip

Official Website: www.zipco.co.jp
Founded: 1996
Number of Auction Sites: 2
Auctions Held: Tuesday, Thursday
Locations: Zip Tokyo, Zip Osaka

The Zip auto auction is unique from other auctions in Japan. What makes it different is that it focuses on auctioning imported cars only. If you are looking for an non-Japanese car to import into your country, this is the place. You will find LHD vehicles as well as RHD vehicles which makes it very flexible for foreign buyers. This auction is very valuable for exporters to participate in.

Whether you are looking for an everyday French or American car or an exotic German or Italian car, this is the place for you. To give you an idea of what you will find here, you’ll see cars made by Alfa Romero, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Bertone, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, General Motors (GM), Hummer, Hyundai, Iveco, Jaguar, Jeep, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lincoln, Maybach, Mercedes Benz, Mercury, Mini, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Rolls Royce, Rover, Saab, Saturn, Smart, Volkswagen, Volvo and many others.

You may find that it is cheaper to buy an non-Japanese car from Japan through Zip than have one shipped from the Country of Origin. If you are planning to buy foreign in Japan, make sure your exporter has membership to Zip in Tokyo and Osaka.

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 2 – JAA

Previously, only LHD vehicles were importable to driven on the right side of roads. This made it difficult to get a car as major markets around Samoa (New Zealand, Australia, and Japan) have cheap used RHD vehicles. Now, Samoans will be able to get more affordable cars.

Additionally to this new law, the government is also considering extend the age limit for importing used cars. Currently a car can be imported at an 8 years maximum age, but the prime mister’s plans would extend it to 12 years old.

This and next few years will bring a significant number of cars traded as people will start to trade in the LHD vehicles for RHD vehicles. Exporters can look forward to 2009.

Official Website: www.jaa.co.jp

Founded: 1971
Number of Auction Sites: 2 throughout Japan
Auctions held each Month: 10-14
Number of Cars Available in 2007: nearly 700,000 (Includes HAA Kobe, part of the JAA group)
Number of Cars Sold in 2007:nearly 365,000 (52.2%)
Locations: JAA Tokyo, JAA Tsukuba, HAA Kobe, JAANET (Satellite), JAAWEB (Internet)

Calling themselves the “Pioneer of The Japanese Automobile Auctions”, JAA is the oldest operating Japanese auto auction group in Japan. The continue to carry a good reputation that allows them to continue to compete. On the negative side, they are know to not have all the technological advancements that the larger, newer auctions have. That being said, they a higher sell completion rate than USS group.

Not many locations, but they are a noticeable part of the non-specialty used passenger car market. If your looking for a everyday car from Japan, the typical Nissan or Toyota car, you should watch their 3 locations.

Related:
Japanese Auto Auction Series Part 1 – USS Group

Nourlaw.com reports that the Technical Committee for Vehicles has informed importers that in the current Iranian year (March 21, 2008 to March 20, 2009) following registration and entry of the vehicle through an official customs post the vehicle must not have passed one year since the date of its manufacture if it is a passenger car, two years for trucks and five years for motorized construction and mineral extraction machines.

The new regulations are in accordance with the by-law of the regulations for imported vehicle.

Source: Press TV

Get more information on importing from our Newsletter.

On April 1, two customs posts – Vladivostok Auto Transport and Vladivostok Central – were combined into one – Vladivostok Commercial Port – by officials intended to smooth the process. In reality, the reshuffle has caused much chaos, delays, and as a result, money lost. Because of the large backlog and daily storage fees of about $20 per a car, auto businessmen acquire considerable lost which are bringing in double and triple digit numbers of cars each day. Ships are even being delayed as they must wait a few days before they can offload their vehicles.

In protest, traders decorated their vehicles with orange ribbons and the slogan “Car Dealers against Bureaucracy” and marched in front the Far Eastern Customs Department. Importers are look for the government to step in, cut, and normalize the clearance time. April may be a sluggish month for Japanese used car exports to Russia. Businessmen are looking forward to getting back to schedule.

Official Website: www.ussnet.co.jp

Number of Auction Sites: 19 throughout Japan
Auctions held each Month: 60-80
Number of Cars Available in 2007: nearly 3 million
Number of Cars Sold in 2007:nearly 1.7 million (57%)
Overall Market Share: 34%
Membership: On-site:41,000; Internet:17,500; Global Network (Sat):6,000

USS stand for Used-car System Solutions. October, 1980 was the month that what became USS Co., Ltd. formed. In August 1982, the first USS auto auction in Nagoya was conducted with 255 vehicles up for bidding. Two hundred and eighty auctioneers participated in this auction coming from throughout Japan.

Over the past few decades, USS Group’s seen huge amounts of growth as they build, acquire, and expand new auction sites to a current of 19 (including 2 recycle auctions). What gave them an advantage to grow into the top position in the market is their development of computer auction software. Allowing others to copy their software, the became immediate market leaders in the technical area.

Besides coming in just before a time of rapid growth in the car auction world, they were able able to capture that growth and increase their reputation through wise business practices. Now they are among the most respectable auctions in Japan. Almost all exporters will carry a USS members ID because mostly of the volume of cars they auction all around Japan.

Information from USS Group.

Those in blue are RHD and those in red are LHD. The terms left or right hand drive refer to where the driver sits in the motor vehicle not where the car is on the road. So in the case of Japan, the steering wheel is on the right hand side.

Most markets that are already RHD will find much value in Japanese used vehicles. Areas such as South-East Asia, Oceania, Eastern Africa, and the British Isles are major importers. Because they use the same system as Japan, there are less hassles getting the vehicles imported. But just because a country doesn’t drive the same way as Japan doesn’t mean RHD vehicles can’t be imported.

For example, Russia is officially regulated for LHD traffic, but Japanese RHD cars are the single largest supplier of used cars to Russia. Last year over 440 thousand vehicles where exported from Japan into Russia. Russia is estimated to have more than 1.5 million RHD vehicles on its roads. In the far eastern regions, such as Vladivostok or Khabarovsk, RHD vehicles make up to 90% of the total. Many other LHD nations are also importing RHD in the thousands without any problems such as Canada, UAE, Chile, Mongolia, Cyprus, and Peru.

There are two considerations for importers. First, are RHD vehicles legally able to be imported, and more importantly, driven in your country. Even in the case that RHD autos cannot be used on your roads, many governments allow the vehicle to be modified so that it is switched to LHD.

The second consideration is if you are willing to drive “on the wrong side” or will you be able to sell cars to customers that are RHD. It is not a matter of being a safety hazard if the driver sits on the other side. A Canadian study showed that RHD drivers were more careful, thus less likely to get into accidents, than those who drove like normal.

It is also not about not getting able to feel comfortable driving RHD drive in a LHD nation. Most drivers who experience this challenge are able to overcome the awkwardness of driving differently within the first few hours on the road. The main issues are do you mind standing out a little bit and will it bring to much inconvenience to your lifestyle? For example, you’ll need a passenger to help you through drive-thru’s and at toll booths. If you don’t mind, and you can import, there are plenty of benefits.

Image and Statistics from Wikipedia under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Tianjin Port’s automobile import growth is a result of the gradual implementation of the national automobile import policy. In recent years, the Chinese government has promulgated policies related to automobile imports, including import license registration, Administration of Automobile Brand Sales Implementing Procedures, Landed Duty Paid, automobile consumption tax adjustments and tariff adjustments. Along with these implemented policies, policies related to car imports are being implemented, car import policies are stabilizing, and the number of imported cars are growing; new automotive administration procedures will be implemented, according to the Tianjin Customs District.

Source: People’s Daily Online

Japanese Exporters may want to see what is happening over in your neighbor’s land. China has been increasing its consumption at huge rates and more Chinese will be looking for affordable cars soon.

State workers who have been issued tax slashed import permits but have not opened letters of credit before the end of last month (March 31) would not be able to open letters of credit to import vehicles.

However the tax discounts would continue for buying a locally produced or assembled car.

State workers who have already applied and who qualify for the tax concession would be issued a permit to buy locally produced or assembled car, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Earlier reports said around 17,000 state-workers have applied to import tax-slashed cars.

Source-LBO.lk

Attempting to reverse the ever growing trade deficit, the Prime Minister asked that imported goods be classified into three categories: essential, controlled, and restricted. All goods categorized in the controlled and restricted groups will face extra difficulties now.

These technical barriers and tariffs that will be applied include: the raising of import tax rates; limiting the access of importers to foreign currency loans; using technical barriers, etc. Japanese used car exporters should expect a slow down on cars exported to Vietnam when these blockades start coming into effect.

As a reader, besides reading this blog (we have an RSS Feed), you can also find information from our sister site JUCE.Info, join our discussion forum JCarsNow.com, and sign-up for the free Newsletter.

First advantage is the Japanese market. Japanese must continue to keep a car in excellent condition or it won’t be allowed to be driven. Many will sell the prize cars in it best condition to get the most return on it. Also, because car collectors are a small minority,  (A) they usually have good mechanical skills to keep the car in top condition, and (B) the market demand is a lot less than other countries. That translates out to relatively cheap but top quality classy cars for car hunters to find.

Another advantage is, when importing, the deals you find in Japan can stay bargains even after importing costs. While there are some countries that restrict import to less than 5 year old cars, such as countries found in South Asia, there are also many Western nations that make it easier to import top quality classics. For example, many have an age exemption rule for older cars. United States makes it easier for cars over 25 years old, Canada 15 years,  the UK 10 years, Australia has the “1 January, 1989″ rule, and New Zealand relaxes the rule for car made before 1990.

Importing can be fun and exciting, especially when you’re importing something you would never have been able to lay your hands on. Japanese auto auctions are quick to use because they are mostly accessible online with quick search engines to find the exact car you’re looking for. You can be a better buyers of classics and not get stuck buying some in your country that is way over priced.

Mongolia has been recently got more hungry for cars. New Zealand is feeling the restriction. Russia remaining as strong as ever. Chile has recently seen a rise of imports being the gateway to South America. Another hubs, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are keeping steady, if not growing slightly.

Recently, there has been a lot of news of Mine’s and Amuse breaking track records with their aftermarket parts for the new GT-R. Other aftermarket companies, such as HKS, are also constantly developing new parts that increase power or improve aerodynamics or just lighten the vehicle. Some of these kits are only offered in Japan, while others maybe be found elsewhere. A question that often comes up is whether you can import cars that are upgraded.

Ultimately, you need to ask to your customs, environment, traffic, and/or road safety government agencies. You might be able to find some information about importing to your country at www.Japan-Used-Cars-Exporting.Info/Import/. For some countries, the laws on importing car a simple and may not be concerned about aftermarket parts. On the other side of the spectrum, some countries refuse entrance to any modified vehicle.

Another case includes that you can import modified vehicles, but they need to pass normal and maybe additional test. You country might have also an approval list of parts that are acceptable.

In general, importing a modified vehicle would cost possibly significantly more. If you are able to find the aftermarket parts sold in your country, you may find it easier to import a stock car then have additional modification installed after the car is legalized and import process is completed. You might (if your country allows) be able to import aftermarket kits and mod later as another option.

The ever need of vehicles growing in Mongolia will be dramatically rising as the baby boom generation are starting become adults. In fact, according to US International Census data, the largest 5-year span group in Mongolia is 15-19 at about 300 thousands boys and girls.

Soon, these teenagers and young adults will be looking for affordable cars. For them, it is a choice between used Chinese, Korean, or Japanese cars. Currently, the market is very open and growing rapidly and is good time for Japanese used vehicle exporters to enter the market. For more information on importing used cars from Japan into Mongolia, visit:

Japanese Used Car Exporting Info – Importing Help For Mongolia

Seriously, the big auctions have sold today (this Friday): 1,012 Mercedes-Benz, 777 BMW, 412 VW, even 166 Mini. Over 230 Chrysler, 113 GM, 230 Volvo, 182 Fords, 106 Chevrolet, and hundreds of other foreign made cars.

If you are in a country that doesn’t have direct access to a particular brand, you could buy it at a Japanese auto auction and have the vehicle imported from Japan. For more information on exporting and importing used cars from Japan, you can visit JUCE.info.

Another reason to buy non-Japanese used cars in Japan is because you will be able to get a cheaper car than importing from another country while the condition of the vehicle has been kept very well. For example, there is a classic that you can buy in your country, but it will cost you a ton of money. You might be able to find the same car for a cheaper price and better maintained in Japan. Many exporters will allow you to use their access to search auto auctions for free if you register with them.

Just to point out, there are many auctions that auction foreign cars in Japan. There are also some Auctions that specialize specialize in Import Vehicles (into Japan) that have many foreign vehicle. One example is Zip Toyko and Osaka. For more information on other auto auctions, visit this Auto Auction In Japan List.

In 2007, the Sri Lanka Customs made Rs.8 Billion less overall than expected. They expected Rs.283 Billion and only made Rs.275 Billion. While there was an overall increase, income from vehicle imports drop by Rs.11 Billion. They were expecting Rs.26 Billion from vehicle excise tax, but only got Rs.15 Billion.

There are a number of reasons for this. First, in 2006, nearly 70% of car imports were from Japan and this year it was only 46% that were mostly buses and vans. The other imports were coming from places such as China, India, and Korea. This other countries make and sell their cars cheaper, so as a result, that means less income for Sri Lanka.

The second reason for less revenue, is because many car imports are being imported by civil servants which get duty free import permits. As people know, Sri Lanka has among the highest duty rates so getting duty free permits really help imports and really reduce import revenue.

This is not the end of this. If import duties continue to stay high, they can continue to expect less revenue. One official says while the revenue target from motor vehicle imports for 2008 is estimated at Rs. 35 Billion, it will be difficult to make even 40% of that estimate. Hopefully, we can see a change of heart and a drop in the super high import taxing.

For more information on importing into Sri Lanka, visit:
Japanese Used Car Exporting.Info – Importing Help For Sri Lanka

After a few years of lowering import taxes to keep vehicle prices down, this year marks yet another change in policy. The government claims they want to restrict the amount of cars being imported and bought to slow down the amount of traffic increases. Traffic jams are at all time intensities, and they feel reducing imports will fix this problem. The real problem is poor urban planning for the only two cities that have real traffic problems: Hanoi, the capitol in the north, and Ho Chi Minh in the south.

Another problem is arising for many importers, not just in Vietnam, but globally. Many countries, like Vietnam, trade in US Dollars. The problem is the value is sinking like a rock and importer who have to wait a month for their consignments to arrive are having a difficult time making profit. I don’t know how longer countries will continue to use the US Dollar, but trade can sure use a switch.

For some more information on import used cars to Vietnam, visit:
Japanese Used Car Exporting.info – Import Help for Vietnam

Canada Border Services Agency has begun holding free seminars in various cities throughout Canada about importing cars into Canada. These seminars are very helpful and informative to anyone thinking about purchasing a vehicle in another country and importing it into Canada.Typically these seminars will have 5-8 guest speakers from various government agencies, including Canada Border Services agency, Transport Canada, RIV, and the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.Topics covered include:

• requirements
• documentation
• prohibitions
• costs
• regulations of the Canada Border Services Agency, Transport Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the provincial government

Attendees will be given helpful literature and example paperwork related to importing vehicles into Canada. There is also time given to address specific questions or concerns that you may have about the importation process.

For dates and times of the seminars, or to register for a seminar in your area visit the Information Sessions and Seminars section on the Canadian Border Services agency website.

Source: ImportCartoCanada.info

If you don’t feel like going to a seminar or waiting, you can get much info on importing from Japan into Canada used cars at:

Japanese Used Car Exporting.info – Importing Help For Canada