minnows

minnowと聞くと、throw out a minnow to catch a whale（エビでタイを釣る）というフレーズを思い出します。minnowは「コイ科の小型淡水魚の小魚」という原義から「ざこ、取るに足らぬ人/もの」という比喩にもなります。ここでは「メジャーではない」あたりでしょうが、輸入車が多いこの辺りでは、そうかな？とふと疑問に思ってしまいます。（UG）

Foreign brands still minnows in Japanese car market

Spotting a foreign car on Japanese streets is a rare sight—save for the odd luxury brand like Ferrari or Jaguar—a point underscored at the Tokyo Motor Show this week.

It was the third time major U.S. automakers including General Motors and Ford have skipped the show, which is held every two years and which kicked off Wednesday.

Critics say their puny presence gives them little incentive to spend time and money trying to crack the world’s third-largest car market.
While Japanese brands such as Toyota and Nissan enjoy huge success in China and the U.S., the world’s top two car markets, overseas names that also include Renault, Peugeot-Citroen and their South Korean rivals accounted for just 4.5% of the 5.37 million vehicles sold in Japan last year.

Some critics pin the imbalance on non-tariff barriers they say effectively shut foreign automakers out of the market—a key issue in ongoing free-trade talks.

Others counter that most overseas brands offer few models and have failed to come up with cars that Japanese drivers want to buy. Among the exceptions are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo but even their sales are a small fraction of the market.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/foreign-brands-still-minnows-in-japanese-car-market