Japanese domestic market

Fender mirror of Toyota Celsior (UCF20 JDM)

The term "Japanese domestic market" (JDM, also“Japanese domestic model”) refers to Japan’s home mar-ket for Japanese vehicles and components. For the im-porter, these terms refer to Japanese-brand automobilesand parts designed to conform to Japanese regulations andto suit Japanese buyers.Compared to the United States where vehicle owners arenow owning vehicles for a longer period of time, withthe average age of the American vehicle fleet at 10.8years,[1] Japanese owners contend with a strict motor ve-hicle inspection system which forces them to pay moreeach year to own a car, or to sell or scrap it as the costsincrease. Compliance encourages a burgeoning exportbusiness in legitimate and gray markets. According tothe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, a car inJapan travels a yearly average of only 9,300 kilometers(5,800 miles), less than half the U.S. average of 19,100kilometers (12,000 miles).[2]

Japanese domestic market vehicles may differ greatlyfrom the cars that Japanese manufacturers build for ex-port and vehicles derived from the same platforms built inother countries. The Japanese car owner looks more to-ward innovation than long-term ownership which forcesJapanese carmakers to refine new technologies and de-signs first in domestic vehicles. For instance, the 2003Honda Inspire featured the first application of Honda’sVariable Cylinder Management. However, the 2003Honda Accord V6, which was the same basic vehicle, pri-marily intended for the North American market, did notfeature VCM, which had a poor reputation after Cadil-lac’s attempt in the 1980s with the V8-6-4 engine. VCMwas successfully introduced to the Accord V6 in its re-design for 2008.In 1988, JDM cars were limited by voluntary self-

restraints among manufacturers to 280 horsepower (PS)(276 hp) and a top speed of 190 km/h (118.1 mph), limitsimposed by the JapanAutomobileManufacturers Associ-ation (JAMA) for safety. The horsepower limit was liftedin 2004 but the speed limit of 190 km/h (118.1 mph) re-mains in effect. Many JDM cars have speedometers thatregister up to 180 km/h (111.8 mph) (certain Nissans goup to 190 km/h, and the GT-R has a mechanism that re-moves the speed limiter on a track) but all have speedlimiters.JDM cars usually have stiffer suspensions and improvedthrottle response because the roads wind over hilly ter-rain. Conversely, American drivers prefer smootherrides because of interstate systems covering thousands ofmiles. Japanese manufacturers also remove certain inno-vations to keep US and European prices down, such asusing a conventional rear suspension instead of a doublewishbone suspension and eliminating electronic devicessuch as Active Yaw Control. Finally, JDM engine poweris sometimes reduced because of stricter emission stan-dards in other countries.

1 VIN

Japanese carmakers do not use a Vehicle IdentificationNumber as is common in the United States and else-where. Instead, Japan uses a Frame Number—nineto twelve alphanumeric characters identifying model andserial number. For example, Frame Number SV30-0169266 breaks down as “V30” identifying the model asToyota Camry/Vista x30; “S” identifying the engine (4S-FE), and “0169266” being the serial number of the ve-hicle. Vehicle make is not identified but slight numbervariations can identify the carmaker, i.e. Toyota usuallyuses seven digits for its serial numbers while Nissan usessix. Because a frame number contains far less informa-tion than a VIN, JDM vehicles also use a Model Code.As an example, SV30-BTPNK breaks down as “SV30”,which means the same as above, and “BTPNK” whichdesignates a set of features incorporated in the vehicle.

2 Export

2.1 Vehicles

Main article: Japanese used vehicle exporting

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2 6 EXTERNAL LINKS

Because Japan’s roadworthiness inspections make itcostly and difficult to keep an older car, used Japanesevehicles are exported primarily to other left-hand trafficmarkets and to right-hand-traffic Russia. Few go to right-hand-traffic United States and Canada, where a vehiclemust be at least 25 years old before the owner can legallyforego U.S. roadworthiness (NHTSA/USDOT) compli-ance while in Canada the car must be at least 15 yearsold.

2.2 Auto parts

JDM components such as lights, mirrors, wheels, and em-blems are often imported for installation on non-JDMvehicles for appearance and performance enhancements.However, all JDM headlamps are engineered for useon the left side of the road which means a left-trafficlow beam in right-hand traffic blinds oncoming motoristswhile failing to cast adequate light for the driver.[3]

3 Worldwide Popularity

The Japanese domestic market has been growing signif-icantly since the 1970s.[4] Many car enthusiasts are at-tracted to the Japanese domestic market in different con-tinents such as North America, Europe, and Asia. Popu-lar brands include Honda, Toyota, and Nissan with iconiccars such as the Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline, and ToyotaSupra.

4 See also• Import scene

• Economy of Japan

5 References[1] “Average length of U.S. vehicle ownership hit an all-time

high”. Retrieved 17 December 2013.

[2] “The Automobile and Society”. FIA. Retrieved 7 Decem-ber 2012.

[3] Headlamp traffic-handedness

[4] Tsuneishi, Scott Top JDMTrends OfAll Time superstree-tonline.com. 2007. Retrieved Nov 3, 2014

6 External links• (English) (Japanese)

lexical

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7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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