![]() ![]() Roughly 60% of the new-to-the-fleet cars registered to drive NZ’s roads each year are used Japanese imports. Many vehicles in New Zealand are vehicles that were imported at some stage from Japan in used condition. To demonstrate this point, we will use the New Zealand vehicle market. JDM cars can have a reputation (that is occasionally deserved) for not being as good as the domestic market version of a vehicle. While an S-Class or 7-Series might be the epitome of luxury in the west, a Toyota Century means business on the streets of Tokyo, and is a true status symbol. There are also examples of larger true JDM vehicles that do not comply with the Kei standard.įor example, the Toyota Century is a JDM vehicle intended to serve as a replacement to luxury limousines from the likes of Mercedes Benz or BMW: However, it is a car that most people outside of Japan will never have heard of. In fact, as of December 2019 the Honda N Box was the most popular new car sold in Japan for 28 consecutive months, with over 1.7 million examples sold since its introduction. In some parts of Japan, Kei car ownership also eliminates the need for the owner to prove that sufficient parking is available.įor example, the Honda N Box (which our editor in chief drives while in Japan) is an example of a true JDM car that is also a Kei car. Small, lightweight vehicles that are highly fuel efficient, which comply with a specific set of regulations around physical dimensions, engine size and power in order to afford the owner reduced road tax and insurance. To further complicate matters, we must also consider the existence of what can only be described as “true” JDM vehicles.Ī true JDM car is a car that was never sold new outside of Japan – as opposed to a car that might be a JDM version of a vehicle that was also sold for export.Įxamples may be imported used or even new (as grey market imports) into other countries but a true JDM car was never intended to leave Japan to be sold new in a dealership elsewhere. To compound matters, the 180SX was also sold outside of Japan as a 200SX … now you can see where the confusion about the meaning of JDM comes from! There Are “True” JDM Cars And JDM “Variants” Sometimes different names were given to the JDM versus USDM or rest of world market version.įor example, the Nissan 240SX as it was sold in the USA was actually a Nissan 180SX when sold in Japan (and they had totally different engine options). Perhaps it is useful to think of cars like the MKIV Supra as having USDM and JDM versions as opposed to a black/white JDM or not distinction. The JDM Supra, for example, was limited to 180 km/h – much as all Japanese vehicles of the time were in order to comply with domestic safety regulations.Īs you can see, the distinction between JDM and Japanese car can get a little blurred when referring to vehicles that were available both in Japan and elsewhere, but with different specs. However, the Toyota Supra mkIV was also available as a vehicle produced new for the Japanese domestic market – with the JDM version having differences to the US version (beyond just left versus right hand drive). This made it a Japanese manufactured vehicle designed to be sold new in the US market – a USDM vehicle. Just being manufactured in Japan does not make a vehicle JDM.įor example, the Toyota Supra MKIV was available brand new in the United States with left hand drive, and some changes to specification to comply to US law. There are many Japanese cars that where produced for the US, European and rest of world markets (often referred to as USDM in the States). However, there is a popular misconception (especially in the United States) that JDM does just refer to any Japanese manufactured vehicle. Are All Japanese Cars JDM?Īs we mentioned above, not all Japanese cars are JDM. ![]() This can be a bit confusing to get your head around, as we will cover in the next section. This is not correct – JDM specifically means a vehicle that was produced with the intent of being sold in Japan, and not outside of the country. So someone from Tokyo going down to their local Toyota dealership, for example, and buying a new car to drive to work.Ī common misconception is that JDM refers to any Japanese produced vehicle. The Japanese domestic vehicle market is people buying cars in Japan, for use on Japanese roads. Long story short, JDM refers to any vehicle that was produced for the Japanese domestic vehicle market.
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