Japan's new vehicle market declined by 2.6% to 406,860 units in November from 417,600 a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
This is the second consecutive monthly decline this year and comes amid reasonably strong economic growth in the country. Third quarter GDP expanded by 1.7% year on year, driven by rising exports and corporate investment growth.
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The recent market decline is attributed to the temporary halt of sales activities by Nissan Motor following revelations in September that it had used unqualified inspection personnel at its domestic plants.
The brand's domestic sales fell by over 27% to 13,111 units in November after a 43% drop to 22,049 units in October.
In the first 11 months of the year, total new vehicle sales were up by 5.8% at 4,839,912 units compared with 4,572,724 units in the same period of last year, underpinned by strong demand for passenger vehicles.
Passenger vehicle sales increased by 6.4% to 4,056,078 units YTD with the mini and subcompact car segments leading the market forward. Truck sales increased by 3.2% to 769,173 units in the same period while bus sales were 3.4% higher at 14,661 units.
Toyota's sales increased by 4.4% to 1,464,838 units YTD, followed by Honda with a 2.9% increase to 671,514 units. Suzuki's sales amounted to 619,560 units (+6.8%); Daihatsu 584,088 units (+7.9%); Nissan 553,037 units (+13.4%); and Mazda 193,701 units (+1.6%).
