[xB boi]

Are the xbs only made in Japan?

 

[Eric]

Yes... I believe the Takaoka Plant

 

[xB boi]

thanx

 

[xbpilot]

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/about_toyota/manufacturing/index.html

this show where the xb is made

 

[xB boi]

That says Central Motor Co., Ltd.

 

[yanges]

That says Central Motor Co., Ltd.

i do not see xB at all - just bB?

did you notice that the Goodyear tires are made in Japan also?

 

[yodar]

I've read that the xBs are actually made by the Japanese car company Daihatsu, no doubt to Toyota standards. Daihatsu tried to enter the U.S. market some years ago (they made a great little Jeep-like 4X4), but after a few years they dropped out.
As to the authenticity of the Scion/Daihatsu connection ... I haven't been able to verify it yet.
Yodar

 

[yanges]

I've read that the xBs are actually made by the Japanese car company Daihatsu, no doubt to Toyota standards. Daihatsu tried to enter the U.S. market some years ago (they made a great little Jeep-like 4X4), but after a few years they dropped out.
As to the authenticity of the Scion/Daihatsu connection ... I haven't been able to verify it yet.
Yodar

you may be right - check out this Daihatsu Materia from 2006 made for Europe:

as seen here:


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=118950#2


and car and driver mentions it on page four that it is manufactured by Daihatsu in this xB article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/budget_rides/2008_scion_xb_road_test/(page)/1


and here is a 2008 Materia:

 

[XB-2008]

the lines above the fenders, the door handles and the way the back 1s higher the headlight... and hood slightly different. the same antenna it goes on and on lol probably right.

 

[eviljack]

Its got similar style to the xB but its not even close to the same car. At least as far as the body is concerned. I don't know the mechanicals so I can say

 

[yanges]

i just checked under my hood and mine says Kanto Auto Works :yes:

and if you look here:

http://www.kanto-aw.co.jp/en/products/automotiver/

at bottom of page is shows the xB under the Iwato Plant and for the Rumion too.

 

[yodar]

Thanks for the link to Car and Driver. Normally I think of C & D in terms of car performance and writing styles that are fun, but in great need of editing. For reliable data I read Consumers Report.
Apparently then, the xB IS made by Daihatsu. But that's not a bad thing, really; most parts of cars are outsourced to subsidiary companies. The question is: Does Toyota have its way in design and quality control? For years the answer has been a resounding YES!
Regarding the similar appearances of the Daihatsu Materia and the Scion xB: to my eyes the only differences are cosmetic. I much prefer the xB. The Materia front end has an idiotic smile plastered across its face. In the back it has the world's first true butt-face. I've never liked butts that smiled at me. But then, I'm
Yodar

 

[yanges]

i think Kanto Auto works in Japan is where they design vehicles and i think there is a division in California too...

here is more specific info i just found @ autoweek.com

Notable features: Toyota's Calty studio in Newport Beach, Calif., handled the exterior design. But Toyota subsidiary Kanto Auto Works handled the interior design and most of the engineering. Kanto also will build the vehicle.

as seen here

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070509/FREE/70508004/1024/latestnews

 

[eviljack]

So many car companies these days are bought and sold regularly, plus like you said, outsourced parts. It getting harder and harder to actually figure out who makes the damn things. I am just glad my car is a true japanese car from japan. Not that I am absolutly in love with japanese cars. Just if its a japanese car I want it from japan. If its a German car I would prefer it come from germany, not mexico. Same with american cars. In fact I believe most North American BMW's are now made in america.

 

[TartanJack]

My sticker had the plant name and "Made in Japan" on it.

As for "German cars" . . . some well made ones are made in Greer, South Carolina (about half-way between Greenville and Spartanburg). Those are BMWs.

 

[TartanJack]

I've read that the xBs are actually made by the Japanese car company Daihatsu, no doubt to Toyota standards. Daihatsu tried to enter the U.S. market some years ago (they made a great little Jeep-like 4X4), but after a few years they dropped out.
As to the authenticity of the Scion/Daihatsu connection ... I haven't been able to verify it yet.
Yodar

Just for the record, Daihatsu has been owned by Toyota since 1999.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu (Note timeline)

Mostly, Daihatsu makes what is known in the Japanese market as kei cars:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mjs/cabover.html

 

[TartanJack]

I've read that the xBs are actually made by the Japanese car company Daihatsu, no doubt to Toyota standards. Daihatsu tried to enter the U.S. market some years ago (they made a great little Jeep-like 4X4), but after a few years they dropped out.
As to the authenticity of the Scion/Daihatsu connection ... I haven't been able to verify it yet.
Yodar

you may be right - check out this Daihatsu Materia from 2006 made for Europe:

as seen here:


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=118950#2


and car and driver mentions it on page four that it is manufactured by Daihatsu in this xB article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/budget_rides/2008_scion_xb_road_test/(page)/1


and here is a 2008 Materia:

THAT is made by Daihatsu and is sold as the second gen bB:
From Wiki: "The second-generation Toyota bB is the same car as the Daihatsu Materia. Only the manufacturer logo and name are different." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_bB

 

[TartanJack]

So many car companies these days are bought and sold regularly, plus like you said, outsourced parts. It getting harder and harder to actually figure out who makes the damn things. I am just glad my car is a true japanese car from japan. Not that I am absolutly in love with japanese cars. Just if its a japanese car I want it from japan. If its a German car I would prefer it come from germany, not mexico. Same with american cars. In fact I believe most North American BMW's are now made in america.

The BMWs made in the Greenville/Spartanburg plant are the X3, X5, the new coupe SUV thing called the X6, and the Z4. They are then EXPORTED from there worldwide, inc. Germany.
That is the only US plant.
All the rest are imported.
My father's recently leased 5-series was built in Germany, to order, and shipped here. He picked it up at the BMW Performance Center across the highway from the plant. We got to "play" on the test track-> it was a BLAST!

 

[TartanJack]

Back to the main point of the thread (and why I revived it):
Plant of Assembly for the second gen xB: Kanegasaki, Isawa, Iwate, Japan
That area is a major rice-paddy area for rice production, but also makes superconductors and Lexus vehicles (listed several places as: Kanto Jidousha-> is that the plant name? Again, can't read Japanese). I wonder if that is the same plant that makes the xB?
Edit 2: That is a sub-company that is part of the Toyota Group and makes the Lexus SC. It is sometimes listed as the "Kanji" plant.

Edit:
The best I can tell, the xB2 is made under contact for Toyota by Central Motor Co, of Japan. I can't read Japanese or translate that to Japanese for the name (Maybe Wave Rider could help with that).
Looking at numerous websites, it looks like Toyota makes most of the vehicles in plants it owns outside Japan and contacts with various plant owners in Japan to make JDM-built vehicles, to Toyota spec and standards. Central Motor Co, must be one of those JDM companies that subcontracts for Toyota.
(Not proven fully, but suspected based upon multiple sources.
Edit 3: I need to learn more about the Japanese corporate structure . . . It seems Toyota has partial ownership of many "subcontact manufacturers" (as we would call them in the US), in part or with a controlling interest.
From this, I CAN say that Daihatsu does not make the xB2, but another Toyota owned?/operated?/contracted? company does. That company is Japanese and operates under the name of Central Motor Co.

 

[TartanJack]

Looking up stuff on Kanto Jidousha . . .
I found:
http://www.j-coach.com/english/company/index.html
One of the Group Companies is Kanto Jidousha and links to: http://www.kantobus.co.jp/
(Can't read the Japanese-> Is either bus manufacturer or operator, not sure which)

Edit: I think this is a bus operator that has the same name as the plant operated by Toyota.