Originally Posted by Quest
in Japan: larger conglomerates may own portion of other immediate competitor's shares, but aside from that, those "competitors" are allowed to own their own technologies, their own designs, and run as independent companies (unlike some other countries conglomerates, which try to take possession of competitor's technologies and stifle their competitors along the way...)
True. Another consideration is that the Japanese auto companies are not entirely automotive in nature. Defense, aerospace, robots, and personal mobility are some of the other sectors these companies are in.
Example: we see Subaru as a car company but if you have flown on a Boeing aircraft or a Airbus 380 lately you have encountered Subaru's aerospace technology and manufacturing.