‘Not what our roads are built for’: Trump’s hope to see more US cars in Tokyo, London is a hard sell

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Japanese and European consumers, who contend with narrow roads and painfully tight parking, steer clear of US cars.

PHOTO: REUTERS

TOKYO/STOCKHOLM - US President Donald Trump is right that Japan and Europe buy few American-made cars – but it has little to do with trade barriers. From Tokyo to London, many consumers see Detroit’s offerings as simply too big and too gas-guzzling.

That view has made Chevrolets and Cadillacs a hard sell, and a rare sight, in cities full of slimmer cars from the Toyota Corolla to Honda Civic, Volkswagen Golf and Renault Clio.

Mr Trump often complains about what he sees as a refusal to accept US cars while the Japanese and Europeans sell millions of automobiles a year into the United States.

In recent trade deals, both markets agreed to drop or ease safety tests on American vehicle imports. Europe will lower levies on US cars.

But it may take more than a change of rules and lower tariffs to convince Japanese and European consumers, who contend with narrow roads and painfully tight parking, to buy big American-made Ford F-150 trucks and Cadillac Escalade SUVs.

“American cars are designed for wide roads and freeway driving, so handling them on narrow Japanese streets can be tricky. It takes a bit of technique,” said Mr Yumihito Yasue, president of Johnan Jeep Petit in Tokyo, which imports and services vintage cars from the United States. His customers tend to be enthusiasts in their 50s and 60s who grew up seeing