Japanese car sales fell 5.8% year on year in July with Mitsubishi’s results plunging 32% and even Honda dropping 11%, reports said.
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July was the 11th month in a row that Japanese sales have fallen and the reports said that consumers were reluctant to spend summer bonuses on new cars while the lingering economic recession continued with no end in sight.
Japanese vehicle makers’ association figures lump car, truck and bus sales together but exclude ‘minivehicles’, the tiny city cars made by all major car makers.
According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, vehicle sales by the country’s 11 manufacturers dropped 5.8 percent from July 2001, to 367,902 with Mitsubishi’s 15,068 units down 32% and reported sales of 50,324 down 11%.
The reports say that workers’ pay and bonus cuts due to the latest economic slump in the world’s second-biggest economy has kept car and truck buyers out of the market.
Even exports, long a saviour for the Japanese industry in times of downturn, are causing concern: the US market accounts for as much as 90 percent of profit for Japanese vehicle makers and investors are concerned about that country’s economic outlook in the wake of the accounting scandals.
July was the first month in 29 that Honda sales dropped but this was attributed to the year-ago surge caused by unexpected demand for the new Fit (Jazz) whose initial sales were triple expectations.
One analyst said that Honda’s sales drop, even though the company had its second-best July on record, was worrying as it showed the company’s dependence on small cars.
Honda, whose vast Japanese range is sold through several dealer chains, will surely be hoping for a new home market hit with the Japanese version of the redesigned 2003 Accord, due out soon.
