The market for aftermarket parts from Japan has been declining for well over five years, due in part to decreased demand both at home and abroad and the rising rates of Chinese knock-offs and other inexpensive (and dubiously built) components.
Today, Japan’s largest credit research company Teikoku Databank announced that automotive parts manufacturer Trust (also known as Greddy in the United States) filed for bankruptcy in Japan. According to various reports, Trust is approximately $60 million in debt and, after reporting a serious decline in sales since February 2008 and amassing $43 million in loan payments, filed for bankruptcy September 10, 2008 in Tokyo
District Court.
Trust was founded in 1976 and employs 190 workers producing exhausts, springs, turbo chargers and car electronics. A US subsidiary, Greddy Performance Products was founded in 1994 to expand overseas sales. In 1998 Trust reported annual sales of US$80M but since then sales had been declining.
There are several firms that will step up to fill the need of enthusiasts, assuming that Trust doesn't try to reorganize, but with the aftermarket industry down overall, we suspect this won't be the last time we'll here about a large tuner going under.
Sources: JDM Insider, AutoBlog
*UPDATE: MotorWorldHype reported on September 12, 2008: "Just a few days ago it was made public that Trust-Power Japan filed for bankruptcy. After hearing this news many were left wondering what it would mean for Greddy USA since Trust-Power is its parent company. Well Greddy set out to put everyone’s mind at ease with a press
release reassuring us that the bankruptcy is merely part of a
restructuring and they have plenty of stock on hand to keep going."
We wish GReddy the best of luck with their reconstruction.
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