Japan’s new vehicle market plunged 19% to 344,816 units in February 2024 from 426,726 units a year earlier, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The sharp decline reflected mainly the suspension of Daihatsu production following the safety test falsification scandal which blew up in December, which also affected sales of models shared with Toyota and Mazda.
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Year earlier sales were also strong as production recovered from supply chain shortages in 2023.
Sales in the first two months of 2024 were down 16% at 679,692 units from 809,064 a year earlier, with passenger vehicle sales falling14% to 583,920 units while truck sales plunged 29% to 94,046 units.
Sales of medium and large buses and coaches were unaffected by scandal with their segment growing 40% to 1,726 units year to date as it continued to recover from earlier Covid travel restrictions.
Toyota sales fell 25% to 201,692 units YTD with deliveries also affected by a test data rigging scandal at an affiliated diesel engine supplier. Daihatsu sales plunged 72% to 30,053 units following a 13% drop in December while Mazda sales were down 29% at 23,340 units.
Companies not affected by the recent Toyota Group scandals fared much better such as Suzuki with an 8% sales rise to 122,135 units, Honda 110,542 (+16%) and Nissan 88,616 (+6%).
