Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. led a 32 percent drop in Japan’s auto sales to the lowest level in 35 years as economic recession exacerbates slumping domestic demand.
Vehicle sales, excluding minicars, fell to 323,063 vehicles in March, the Tokyo-based Japan Automobile Dealers Association said in a statement today. Toyota, Japan’s largest automaker, sold 135,700 vehicles excluding its Lexus-brand cars, down 32 percent. Sales at Nissan, the country’s third-biggest, fell 34 percent to 59,292.
The Japanese auto market, already hurt by a shrinking population, may contract further this fiscal year, as rising unemployment and falling wages deter car purchases. Wages in Japan fell at the fastest pace in the past five years and the jobless rate jumped to 4.4 percent in February, the highest in three years, the government said yesterday.
“We’re in a bottom zone,” said Edwin Merner, president of Tokyo-based Atlantis Investment Research Corp., which manages $3.1 billion. “Auto sales will recover, but buying will be selective.”
Including minicars, vehicle sales fell 25 percent to 546,098 vehicles last month, according to figures released today by the dealers’ association and Japan Mini Vehicles Association. For the year ended yesterday, industrywide sales including minicars dropped 12 percent to 4.7 million. That’s the lowest figure since 1977 when the automakers sold 4.23 million vehicles.
Lower Taxes
“The trend may continue for a while because of the deepening recession,” said Yasuhiro Matsumoto, a senior analyst at Shinsei Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The best thing the automakers can hope for is to maintain their share in this shrinking market.”
Japan’s vehicle sales may fall 8.5 percent to 4.3 million vehicles this fiscal year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said last week.
In response to falling vehicle demand, the government today began to cut or exempt taxes on some fuel-efficient autos to help spur demand in the world’s third-largest auto market. The auto group expects the measure to boost overall sales by 310,000 vehicles.
“The severity of the slump in the industry is intensifying,” Takeshi Fushimi, a director of the Tokyo-based auto dealers’ association, told reporters in Tokyo today. “We need measures to restore confidence among consumers.”
Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest automaker, sold 67,211 vehicles including minicars last month, down 25 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., a Ford Motor Co. affiliate, sold 23,647 vehicles, down 32 percent. Nissan’s sales fell 28 percent including minicars.
Minicar Sales
Suzuki Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest minicar maker, sold more minicars than Daihatsu Motor Co. for the first time in 15 months in March. Sales at Suzuki fell 7.3 percent to 73,700 vehicles. Daihatsu, the nation’s largest minicar maker, sold 13 percent fewer minicars to 72,291.
Japanese carmakers sold 1.81 million minicars last fiscal year, down 4.4 percent. Minicars accounted for 38.4 percent of the total, compared with 35.6 percent a year ago.
Japan’s slump in auto demand mirrors that of the U.S., the world’s largest auto market, where General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC probably dragged the U.S. auto market to a third straight monthly contraction in March.
Vehicles in the U.S. likely sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 8.8 million last month, the average estimate of 8 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. It was 15.1 million a year ago.
Toyota rose 4.8 percent to 3,270 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. Nissan rose 10 percent to 385 yen. Honda rose 6.7 percent to 2,470 yen.
+ 2009 Monthly Auto Sales Coverage
+ Feb.2009 Auto Sales: GM,Ford Lead U.S. Sales Plunged 41.3%
+ Feb.2009 Auto Sales: Japan Sales Plunged 32.4%
+ Feb.2009 Auto Sales: Predictd Hovering at 27-Year Lows
+ Jan. 2009 Auto Sales: Chrysler/GM/Ford Lead Fourth 30% Monthly Drop
+ Jan. 2009 Auto Sales: Japan Sales Plunge to Lowest in 37 Years
+ Jan. 2009 Auto Sales: Surprise! Hyundai Sales Rise 14.3%
