Korea’s Rise, Japan’s Fall? Green Transition in the Automotive Industry

Since the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, there has been a growing awareness that addressing environmental issues is not only the duty of political leaders but also the social responsibility of companies. Focusing on the automotive industries in Japan and South Korea, this chapter assesses their efforts to promote green transition through their business operations alongside the institutional settings of their countries. In particular, it examines the leading automakers in the respective countries, namely Toyota and Hyundai. These two automotive groups can potentially play a key role in facilitating environmental sustainability in Asia and beyond if their competitiveness and their countries’ policies are properly aligned. In the eco-car segments, however, Toyota’s performance is lagging behind its competitors, while Hyundai is still struggling to gain a leading edge in the global market. The chapter pays particular attention to electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, and considers their potential, as well as technological and institutional obstacles that the companies may face, in the process of green transition in the automotive industry.