You would never imagine the passion the Renault Kangoo stirs up in Japan... there are even huge gatherings!

Japan has always had a highly prized automotive industry thanks to the exquisite and carefully crafted design it has always applied to its cars. It is also worth highlighting the great reliability that the engines from local manufacturers have shown over the decades, a blend of qualities that has undoubtedly helped their brands become recognised across the world.

It could be said that the 1990s were the decade that produced the finest vehicles from its factories, years in which they set out to compete head-to-head with European manufacturers to build the best sports cars, and consequently we, the end consumers, benefited from gems that today still fetch a fortune such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Mazda RX7, Honda CRX, Honda NSX or the Nissan Skyline, to name just a few.

Thanks to the worldwide cult following of these vehicles, together with the rise of tuning in Japan too, a culture grew with thousands upon thousands of enthusiasts and gave rise to the term JDM, which stands for Japanese Domestic Market and refers both to the vehicles and the parts that improve them. This passion also led to meetings and/or gatherings gradually springing up across the whole country, with Daikoku Futo perhaps being the most famous venue: a car park on Tokyo Bay that became a meeting point for JDM fans, tuning enthusiasts and street racers, and which I had the good fortune to visit.

The Japanese are very passionate people despite their shyness, hence that fervour both for their own vehicles and for anything that catches their particular attention. And mind you, if I told you to think of a European vehicle that the Japanese might worship almost as much as a JDM, I doubt you would guess it in five lifetimes. Obviously you have already worked it out from the attached photographs, and yes, it is the Renault Kangoo.

The Renault Kangoo is a success story for the French manufacturer, with more than 4.4 million units sold over its 25 years of history in 50 countries around the world, Japan being one of them, and where the Kangoo has taken a strong hold among its citizens. The passion for the Renault Kangoo grew rapidly, and in 2009 a group of enthusiasts decided to create the Kangoo Jamboree, gathering around a hundred participants. Fourteen years later, it is now the largest Renault Kangoo meeting, bringing together this year, and pay attention, nearly 2,000 vehicles and more than 5,000 visitors.

Given the scale of the event, personalities such as Junpei Ogawa, president of Renault in Japan, Heinz-Jürgen Löw, head of light commercial vehicles at Renault, Thierry Plantegenest, Sales and Marketing Director at Renault, and Florent Pichereau, Kangoo launch manager, were all present. In addition, Renault also took the opportunity to let all attendees see the new Kangoo live and to present the Kangoo Urban Grey, which will be a limited edition for Japan.