The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has said that new vehicle sales there are expected to fall to a 23-year low in fiscal 2007, with sales of minicars posting the first year-on-year decline in seven years.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the association said domestic vehicle sales will fall to about 5.52m units, down 2% from the current fiscal year for a second consecutive year-on-year decline. Perhaps significantly, sales of minicars, which have risen substantially in recent years, will drop to 1.49m units, down 2.2% from fiscal 2006.
The association said minicars, with engine displacements of 660 cc or less, will bear the brunt of a recent stabilisation in petrol prices and a dearth of redesigned models, the paper reported.
On Friday Nissan Motor said it was axing two shifts at two of its Japanese plants due to falling domestic demand.
