Category : Wheelz By Country

In 2014, Toyota celebrated its 75th anniversary. In spite of not being a manufacturer as old as the traditionally European ones, Toyota remains one of the best manufacturer in the world, renown for the quality of its vehicles and the safety of the rides it provides. They manage to maintain a fresh, innovative approach on car manufacturing, as it comes with new concepts every year. The latest one regards automated safety, made possible in the US via the AHDA (Automated Highway Driving Assist). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the Prius, the Camry and the Highlander the “Top Safety Pick” prize in the US in 2014.

The Toyota equivalent of Nissan’s Infiniti, Lexus has attracted global acclaim with its latest models. Ever since the apparition of the L400 in 1989, Lexus managed to dethrone the supremacy of Honda’s Acura in the US. With a design bearing almost no resemblance to the mother company, Lexus imposed itself among the top luxury car makes worldwide. In 2007, the car had already entered an extra 50 countries and continues to grow incessantly.

Part of the Renault-Nissan alliance, this brand is situated well among the world’s top auto manufacturers (6th place in 2012), with cars commercialized worldwide. Main market is in in China and Russia, due to mergers with the Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Russian Technologies. Recently, it has revised most of it’s models and styled all of them in a very modern and appealing way. This automaker from Japan managed to maintain itself amongst the innovative manufacturers, manifesting interest for electric vehicles and for luxury car models as well. Nissan Leaf:- Only sold in 35 countries at the moment, this compact electric hatchback attracted worldwide attention after its launch in 2010. It is, for the moment, the best sold all-electric car (110 000 items sold until 2014), which is an achievement worthy of mention.

Luxurious Infiniti is a luxury division of Nissan which adds to its popularity. A separate division of Nissan, Infiniti was founded in 1989 and started selling its vehicles in the US, only to expand during the next 20 years to approximately 15 countries. Infiniti is anything but an affordable car, but it doesn’t keep drivers away from its charms. With currently 9 pricy models in production, Infiniti may even achieve the performance to outdo Lexus, its Toyota equivalent. At least, this is what Top Gear experts claim.

This Japanese car maker started out as a 2-cycle motorbike engine producer, to become a universally-renowned automobile and the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer. Auto vehicle production is of rather recent interest to Honda (1969), unlike the motorcycle one. With over 20 models currently in production (the most popular being the Accord and the CR-V SUV), Honda remains an important player in the auto industry, at a global level.

The separate division of the company, Acura, is of early descent. Only founded in 1986, the model still sells massively, predominantly outside Japan. The RDX maintains itself in official and less official classifications of top luxury car makes around the world.

Initially famous for its motorcycles, this car manufacturer of Japan managed to acquire 10th place among automakers worldwide in 2011. Manufactured vehicles comprise of automobiles, ATVs, outboard marine engines and, of course, motorcycles. All of them are produced in the 35 facilities located in 23 countries.

Another important auto manufacturer from Japan is Mitsubishi, a powerful part in the company of the Mitsubishi Group. The company partnered with Daimler-Chrysler in 2000, in order to overcome severe financial hurdles. The history of this company was anything but peaceful, as several technical problems with some of the models resulted in massive financial losses. Nevertheless, newer models, such as the Lancer or the Outlander, managed to reposition the Mitsubishi name among the important auto companies. Famous Pajero is currently one of the world’s most acclaimed SUVs, fiercely competing with Toyota’s Land Cruiser and Nissan’s Patrol.

One of the older auto manufacturing companies from Japan, Mazda origins date back to the beginning of the 20th century. An important producer at a global level (3 million units of the Mazda 3 model in 2011), they manage to manufacture most of its vehicles inside its national facilities. Between 1979 and 2010, the Japanese car manufacturer partnered with Ford, which eventually led the company to develop supplementary distinct divisions, such as the Autozam, the Efini, the Eunos and the Xedos. The sports car category in Japan is also well represented by Mazda: the MX-5 managed to conquer the “world’s best-selling sports car” title, fully acknowledged even by TopGear.

Daihatsu Motor Corp, Ltd is the oldest automobile manufacturer in Japan. The company is popular for its large range of compact cars and off-road Japanese Cars. It was first officially known as Hatsudoki Seizo, but later in 1951 it was renamed as Daihatsu. A few years after the company was renamed, Daihatsu signed an agreement with the Toyota Motor Corporation, which now owns 51% of the company’s shares. Daihatsu, for many years, hasn’t released any new vehicle. However, there have been rumors that the company might get back into the game in the near future!

Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of the popular transportation company Fuji Heavy Industries. The company is most famous for introducing the boxer engine layout and symmetrical all-wheel drive technology. Apart from this, Subaru is known mainly for its production of rally cars and even offers turbocharged versions of their popular passenger cars, including the Legacy 2.5 GT and the Impreza.

Previously known as Chiyoda, Isuzu is a automobile manufacturer that has been in the business of selling cars, accessories, parts, and petrol and diesel engines for 99 years. The story of Isuzu goes all the way back to 1916 when a gas company and a shipbuilding and engineering company merged to form an automobile manufacturer plant. The company specializes in manufacturing commercial vehicles, but does have a few best selling SUVs and sports cars as well.

Scion is one of the most popular auto manufacturers that generally works under Toyota for producing vehicles for the North American market. The brand’s main focus is appealing to Generation Y consumers and had been quite popular in its early stages. However, the company now seems to be struggling to keep its sales high, so it’s not going through a good phase for now. Nevertheless, with its new vehicle soon-to-be released this year, who knows what might happen?

Mitsuoka Motors is a small automobile manufacturer that is located in Toyama City, Japan. The company is popular for producing cars with design cues from British vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. Apart from sedans, the company also manufactures commercial vehicles, including coaches and buses and even sports cars. Mitsuoka Motors is also the primary distributor of the most popular roadster in Japan, the retro-classic TD2000.

Kia Motors Corporation, part of Hyundai-Kia automotive Group, is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Founded in May 1944, Kia has an amazing history that makes it the world’s fifth largest vehicle manufacturer. Today, Kia produces more than 1.4 million vehicles a year. Kia has a network of more than 3,000 distributors and dealers that sell its vehicles in 172 countries and an annual revenue of more than US$17 billion. Kia’s production plans follow a certain set of rules, based on great designs and accessibility. The main aim of the company is to build automobiles that satisfy customers’ needs. That’s why some of its models are extremely accessible (Kia Rio LX sedan – $14,700). To keep in touch with ongoing trends in the automotive industry, Kia decided to invest in new headquarters in Europe and USA. Kia’s collection include cars (Picanto, Picanto LPGi, Rio 4-door, Rio 5-door, Cerato/Forte, Cerato/ Forte 5-door, Cerato KOUP, cee’d, cee’d GT, cee’d Sportswagon, pro_cee’d, pro

Hyundai was founded in 1946 in Seoul, Korea. It is definitely the most popular brand of all Korean-made cars. The name can be translated into “Modern era”, which explains the company’s passion for progress and innovation. At that moment, Hyundai Group led the market by building electronics, oil rigs and massive infrastructure projects. The Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967. When it comes to production, this Korean car company boasts on an annual capacity of one million and a half cars. In 2013, the company won the distinction of 4th largest car manufacturing company in the world, dethroning giants Nissan, Honda and even Ford. Now Hyundai is part of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. One of their main goals remains being innovative and of high quality, so that people can drive affordable vehicles that last.

Daewoo was founded in 1937 in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea. The company suffered a few changes over the years: it changed its name to Saenara Motor in 1962; in 1965 it was bought by Shinjin Industrial; later on, it worked with Toyota and it was renamed Shinjin Motor. By starting a collaboration with General Motors, the company gained control and it expanded throughout the whole world. The company’s production copied General Motor’s designs, but only until 1996, when the Asian crisis started and financial problems appeared. In 2001, GM decided to buy Daewoo Motor, which became part of their group.

One of South Korea’s largest automobile manufacturers, SsangYong dates back to the second half of the twentieth century. In its early beginnings, the company was mainly into building jeeps, trucks and buses which were eventually shipped to the USA. Nowadays, the model palette only includes SUVs and luxury cars: the Rexton, the Korando, the Kyron and the Actyon.

Renault Samsung Motors is a South Korean automobile company headquartered in Busan. It was founded in 1994 as Samsung Motors and it began selling cars in 1998, just before the Asian financial crisis. In 2002, the company was renamed Renault Samsung Motors and right after that, it began to gain trust and achieve impressive results. The SM5 model was the first manufactured automobile that proved to be a success. It was followed by other vehicles, including the SM3 in 2002, the SM7 in 2004 and the crossover QM5 in 2007.

Pyeonghwa Motors, known as ‘Peace Motors’ in Korea, is a joint venture between the Ryonbong General Corp and Pyonghwa Motors in Seoul. The company operates under the license of Brilliance China Auto and Fiat and specializes in manufacturing small and compact cars, SUVs and reliable pickup trucks. The company also has exclusive rights to purchase, sell, and produce cars in North Korea and has the capacity of producing almost 10,000 vehicles per years. However, since the North Korean market for cars is small, the output of Pyeonghwa Motors is limited to 300 or 400 vehicles per years. Nevertheless, the company plays an important role in the automotive industry of South and North Korea and has the potential to expand its operations into foreign countries.