Japanese trading house Itochu Corp says it is considering investing in Bigmotor Co in a bid to help reconstruct the used car dealership mired in an insurance fraud scandal. Itochu, together with its subsidiary Itochu Enex Co and investment fund J-Will Partners, won exclusive negotiation rights and will launch due…
Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. says it is considering investing in Bigmotor Co. in a bid to help reconstruct the used car dealership mired in an insurance fraud scandal.
Car sharing, subscriptions expand in Japan as vehicle ownership loses its shine
April 11, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Vehicles are seen lined up at a Park 24 Co. car-share station in this photo provided by the company. TOKYO Once upon a time, having a car was a status symbol. But in Japan, young people in particular are leaving car ownership behind, forcing the country s automakers to seek and strengthen strategies beyond the simple dealership sale. Now, a host of alternative ways to get behind the wheel are popping up, especially in cities, from fixed fee vehicle subscriptions to car sharing. I want to change this decades-old idea that a car is something you buy. So said Shinya Kotera, president of Toyota Motor Corp. subsidiary Kinto Corp. during an online briefing on the company s Kinto One service in January this year.