If The Japanese Market Is So Closed To Imports, Then How Did The VW Up! Blow That Market Wide Open?

Volkswagen’s ultracompact Up! is taking Japan by storm. Three weeks after its Oct. 1 release, orders for the up! have exceeded 3,000 units.

The Nikkei thinks the diminutive 1-liter vehicle “may beat the Golf subcompact to become the German automaker’s most successful new-car launch in Japan.” The 2 door version costs 1,490,000 yen in Japan, about the price of a decently appointed kei car. Converted to dollars, it’s  $18,600, but that’s with tax and converted from obscenely high yen to obscenely low greenbacks. Trust me, in Japan, it’s a bargain.