Automobile sales in Japan, excluding 660cc minivehicles, fell 30.7% in November from a year earlier to 203,246 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
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Sales at Toyota, excluding Lexus, fell 34.3%, while Nissan Motor fell 21.3% and Honda retreated 37.6%.
The biggest year on year fall in 20 months came after subsidies for green cars ended.
“Sales fell in response to the end (in early September) of subsidies for environment-friendly cars,” an association official said.
“There is no doubt that demand had risen in advance” of the subsidy’s expiration, he said, adding it was difficult to predict when sales would pick up.
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By GlobalDataThe Japanese government ended in early September a popular subsidy to encourage motorists to buy eco-friendly cars, a measure that had boosted demand in the wake of the crippling effects of the financial crisis.
The end of the scheme has dealt a blow to Japanese automakers, which are struggling to cope with the yen’s strength against other major currencies, forcing them to scale back production.
A strong yen erodes exporters’ incomes when repatriated while making their products more expensive and less competitive abroad.
