Tadashi Wakamatsu: Providing the Thrill of Driving American Cars

Before the war, American cars were the market leaders, and GM Japan was founded in 1927 (as General Motors Japan at the time). Furthermore, Yanase, where I used to work, was founded in 1915, and its founding brands were Cadillac and Buick.

In other words, GM vehicles have been entering Japan for 104 years. When General Motors Japan was established, they didn't just import; they built an assembly plant in Osaka to manufacture them.

Yes. I graduated from university in 1989 and joined Yanase to handle GM vehicles. At that time, sales peaked at about 60,000 units, making them the best-selling imported cars.

However, even with 60,000 units, about 20,000 were sold as the Toyota Cavalier, and the rest were over 6,000 Chevrolets and over 3,000 Cadillacs, totaling about 10,000. There were also models like Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, and HUMMER. We also handled Saab and Opel from Europe, which were subsidiaries at the time, totaling about 60,000 units.

The best-sellers back then were the Chevrolet Camaro and Blazer. That was around the time SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) started selling well.

When I joined Yanase, Japan was in the era of "Someday, a Crown."

Exactly. You go from a Corolla to a Corona, then to a Mark II when you become a manager, and eventually to a Crown (laughs).

In that era, Chevrolet had an SUV called the S-10 Blazer. I think it was a time when society was maturing and tastes were diversifying into SUVs and other types, moving away from the value system where cars meant stepping up through sedans.

Since European cars hardly had any SUVs yet, American cars at that time influenced Japanese car culture and actually sold reasonably well. At Yanase, I was promoting the introduction of right-hand drive Blazers and planning the official import of the Astro.

While GM has changed its strategy in various ways, we currently have a lineup of only left-hand drive vehicles. This is because we believe there are "products only GM can create," and we intend to emphasize that.

Currently, we are focusing mainly on the Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, as well as Cadillac. By releasing new models of the Camaro, we are trying to put it back on a growth trajectory. In other words, we have no intention of introducing cars to compete with the Prius, Vitz, Fit, or N-BOX. That is not our strength.

About 70% of current Camaro customers are new, and the largest group among them is people in their 20s, accounting for 30%. With young people moving away from cars these days, it's gratifying that people in their 20s are buying them. Many customers don't see it as just a tool for transportation; they say, "I love the Camaro, I love cars."

Currently, the Camaro has two engine types, one of which is a 2-liter turbo. On the other hand, the 6.2-liter V8 remains popular. There are customers who feel that "an American car must have a V-engine."

Even if the basic technology is the same as in the past, it continues to evolve by increasing efficiency. I think this is one of our strengths. The exhaust note is also different from others.

Originally, the DNA of American cars includes the idea that "cars are for everyone."

The Model T Ford is a perfect example, but GM vehicles were also the first in the world to adopt features like self-starters, automatic transmissions, and automatic air conditioning. I believe we have worked to popularize "cars," which used to be something only a limited number of people could drive, to a wider audience.

For example, American cars have had power seats that move freely since the 80s. Customers often ask, "Aren't American cars for big people?" but America is a multi-ethnic nation with people of Asian, Hispanic, and European descent. So, there is consideration given to fitting any person's body type.

To put it grandly, I think American car culture was built with an emphasis on fairness within a democratized world.

GM cars might occupy a rare position among imported cars in Japan, but even though they are high-preference items, they are actually easy to drive. From an ergonomic perspective, there is a focus on how to make them easy for humans to handle.

I want to keep doing it as long as the company allows me (laughs).

The other day, over 260 customers came to a Chevrolet fan event. Everyone was talking to each other with big smiles, and it was incredibly exciting.

I thought to myself, "This is why I do this job." Of course, as a company, we have to grow, generate profit, and give back to shareholders and employees, but ultimately, I'm doing it to see customers getting excited and thrilled while talking about cars. I think if I sold hundreds of thousands or millions of cars without that, it would feel empty.

My father was a journalist, and I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. from the age of two. Since it was a place where you couldn't live without a car, my father bought a used Chevrolet. When the exchange rate was 360 yen to the dollar, that was the only car a Japanese person could afford. When traveling as a family, the sight that was burned into my eyes from the back seat was a yellow Corvette. It was incredibly dazzling, and I thought, "How cool is that!" (laughs). I've carried that feeling with me ever since.

Later, when I became an adult and got a Corvette, I became so emotional that my vision blurred. When I came to GM Japan and took charge of a Z06 for initial production validation, it also evoked special emotions.

The Z06 has evolved significantly compared to previous Corvettes. Not only speed and rigidity, but also safety and operability have improved surprisingly.

I think it's very much there. GM is an American company, but it has expanded worldwide, co-developed with Japanese manufacturers, and had capital ties with Isuzu, Suzuki, and Fuji Heavy Industries at one time. Therefore, we are able to reflect global input into our cars.

I myself was involved in product development at GM International in places other than the U.S., so I have incorporated regional voices into product development.

On the other hand, the market is currently undergoing a drastic change, and a once-in-a-century transformation is coming to the automotive industry. CEO Mary Barra also says that more changes will come in the next 5 to 10 years than in the past 50. GM aims to lead that transformation and contribute to creating a society with "Triple Zero": zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.

To that end, we are changing how we develop cars and our business portfolio. We intend to be at the world's forefront of what is called "CASE": Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric.

One of the reasons I think Japan is a rich automotive society is that there are many choices. But there could be even more choices.

Some people might say any car will do. However, others consider a car an important part of themselves. From my perspective, a car is something worth spending time and effort on; I'd rather sit in the driver's seat than the passenger seat. And I want something I like that feels like me.

I think it would be great if there were diverse options so people could choose a car because they love driving itself, or because they want to go camping or surfing with their family. If you just try to look cool without substance, it's quickly found out.

Japan is a top-class mature nation, but I think there is still room for car culture to grow.

Current car enthusiasts tend to be more prominent among the wealthy. But there should be a culture where you can drive a car you like as a hobby even if you don't have that much money. There was a time when that trend existed. For example, when we were young and Toyota released the 2-door coupe 86 (AE86), there was the Levin and the Trueno.

So rather than being pessimistic, I think if we properly communicate the appeal of such cars, people will get excited.

I meet Akio Toyoda about two or three times a year, and we mostly just talk about racing (laughs).

Japan is the largest market for AC Delco (a parts company under GM) outside of the U.S., and one reason is that AC Delco batteries account for 70% of Toyota's secondary parts batteries. In that sense, we are grateful to Toyota.

When I first went to Shanghai, China in 2005, the overwhelming majority of cars were Volkswagen Santana taxis. Other than that, there were just black cars for VIPs. Everyone thought a car was not something you drive yourself.

However, at some point, people who became wealthy all started driving cars and buying imported cars. It felt as if rapid economic growth and the bubble economy arrived all at once.

The speed of generational change was also fast. The people joining our company initially had no experience with cars at all, but a few years later, talented people who had studied automotive engineering started joining from universities. By then, every kind of car was available, and as you know, the Shanghai and Beijing Motor Shows have become some of the largest in the world.

The rise of Chinese automakers is remarkable now, but I feel this was inevitable.

In Japan, the point of contact with customers during the shopping process is gradually thinning. In the past, people would go to a dealer's showroom to compare cars or read car magazines to deepen their knowledge before purchasing. But now, they mostly research on the internet and visit a dealer fewer than two times.

Therefore, I am mindful of how to create points of contact with people who have shown interest. Events are one way, but closer to sales, we might display cars in front of large stations to increase opportunities for people to see them.

Also, Cadillac has been running the "Power Woman Project" since the year before last.

We have cool, influential women become ambassadors to appeal to a female demographic we haven't reached yet. As women become more active and independent, we want to show the image of wonderful ambassadors being active while driving Cadillacs.

For example, recently we had Tomomi Ishimura, who devised a new type of yoga in New York called "Zero Training," become an ambassador and created an opportunity for her to actually give lectures to customers.

By creating such points of contact with customers, the ideal is to provide a heart-pounding experience that stays in their memory. There must be something universal about enjoying a car and the experiences associated with it. What we are trying to do at GM Japan is to pursue that.

While there may be car-sharing, I want people to actually see GM cars and aspire to own them. I want to aim for cars with such an impact that people are moved by driving them, and their lifestyle habits change the moment they get in.

Probably when I was looking for a job. When I returned to Japan and transferred to an elementary school, it was an era when there weren't many returnees. So, I thought of myself as an outlier and tried to be like everyone else by removing my "American-ness."

During my university days, I had the chance to go to America, and my formative childhood experiences came back. On the way to New York by Greyhound bus, the lid I had sealed inside me suddenly popped open, and various memories came back like a revolving lantern. At that moment, I realized I hadn't been living as myself.

From that point, I felt I had to acknowledge that and live my life, and I thought it would be great if there was something I could do between Japan and the U.S. That's when I learned that Yanase handled GM cars and said, "Please let me handle GM." So once I joined the company, I couldn't have been happier.