TOKYO–Japan’s domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses fell 15.6% from a year earlier in March, stretching the run of on-year declines to seven straight months, as demand weakened from the previous year following the expiration of government subsidies for fuel-efficient cars, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
Sales totaled 420,069 vehicles in March, the association said.
Auto sales, as measured by registrations of vehicles with the government, are monitored by economists since they are the first consumer-spending numbers released each month.
For the fiscal year ended March, the nation’s vehicle sales grew 5.7% to 3.24 million vehicles for the second straight year of gain.
The figures don’t include sales of mini cars and trucks.
Sales of passenger cars fell 16.7% to 369,703 vehicles amid the absence of government subsidies for low-emission vehicles.
Truck sales declined 6.7% to 48,282 units, those of buses were down 15.8% at 2,084.
Of the country’s top three auto makers, Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) posted the largest percentage fall in the month with a drop of 36.3%, followed by Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO). Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) ranked third, with March sales slumping 16.3% to 189,152 vehicles.
The association began releasing sales by brand when it announced January’s domestic new vehicle sales data.
Sales by brand include vehicles that were produced overseas by Japanese auto makers and sold in Japan. Such vehicles were previously categorized as sales of imported vehicles, the association said.
Source: nasdaq.com
