Conventional wisdom is that you have to sell 6  million cars to make a profit.  In Japan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Suzuki and Subaru are proving it wrong.

Suzuki has only one big market outside Japan, and that’s India.  They withdrew from a deal with Volkswagen which could have helped it sell small cheap cars in developed counteis.

Mazda wound down an over two decade relationship with Ford as Ford tried to avoid bankruptcy in 2007-8.  Subaru does not like the 16.5% take Toyota holds in it.

The companies don’t have big bucs for r & d, but Mazda has developed SKyActv technology which improves the efficiency of gas and diesel engines.

Mitsubishi belongs to a large industrial group, and each of the companies has a leg up from larger companies.  The domestic market for japanese cars has declined but the cars are doing well abroad.