January output at seven of Japan’s eight top automakers declined year on year as September’s ending of government subsidies for eco-friendly cars seriously affected domestic sales.
Toyota said domestic output plunged 13% to 234,045 units, Reuters reported. Honda’s January production in Japan fell 10.6% to 69,170 units, the lowest for January since the automaker began to release domestic output in November 1997. Domestic output declined 13.1% at Suzuki .
Mitsubishi Motors was the only one to report a rise in Japanese production as demand for the RVR sport utility vehicle helped boost output 28.6% to 60,089 units.
The eight automakers all reported domestic vehicle sales declines in January, including Nissan Motor, which saw its domestic sales plunge 16.7% to 40,913 units, the lowest for the month since January 1971 when it began to compile comparable data.
But all expanded overseas production in the month, supported by growing demand in China and other Asian countries, Reuters noted.
Overseas output jumped 32.8% to a monthly record of 293,327 units for Nissan and 24.5% to a new high of 35,538 units for Toyota affiliate Daihatsu.
Toyota, Suzuki, Mazda and Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries achieved their respective highest ever records for the month.
Of the eight automakers, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Fuji expanded exports as well, the report said.