Cultural preferences and infrastructure, not trade barriers, are the main hurdles for the sales growth of pickup trucks in Europe and Japan.
One of the key differences in car buyers’ preferences in the US and Europe is the size of the vehicles. While the consumers in the US, Australia prefer mammoth-sized SUVs and pickup trucks, car buyers in Europe, Japan prefer smaller, fuel-efficient cars. This is pickup trucks don’t find much traction in the European market. Now, US President Donald Trump wants to change that picture. He wants to put the large pickup trucks to dominate the skinniest streets of Europe.
In an interaction with CNBC, Trump has said that if there were no trade barriers in place, pickup trucks would have found a strong place in markets like Japan and Europe. However, in reality, the problem is not with tariffs but with the taste of the consumers, the size and the practicality of those vehicles. In a nutshell, cultural preferences and infrastructure, not trade barriers, are the main hurdles for the sales growth of pickup trucks in Europe and Japan.
Be it Japan or Europe, consumers overwhelmingly prefer smaller and more fuel-efficient cars like the Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Golf, and Renault Clio. On the other hand, despite enjoying lower tariffs, carmakers like Ford, General Motors and Stellantis see their market share abroad remains tiny. Speaking about this, Trump reportedly told CNBC, “They’re taking our cars. They’re taking the very beautiful Ford F-150, which does very well. And I’m sure we’ll do very well there, and other things that do very well here will also do well there.”
Trump’s comments come after he promised, but is yet to impose a tariff cut on Japan from the current 27.5 per cent to 15 per cent. However, even if that goes down, it doesn’t mean other challenges will be over since roads are narrow, the parking lots are tight, and the fuel is prohibitively expensive.
Japan recorded 3.7 million car sales in 2024. Just 570 of them were Chevrolet, 420 were Cadillac, and 120 were Dodge. Ford hasn’t sold a car there in almost a decade. On the other hand, Jeep is the most popular U.S. brand in Japan and has been for over a decade.
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First Published Date: 10 Aug 2025, 12:40 pm IST
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