Japanese new vehicle sales expanded by 4.1% to 459,456 units in July 2019 from year earlier sales of 441,533 units, after a slight year on year decline in June, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Sales in the first seven months of the year were higher by 1.2% at 3,212,876 units from 3,174,011 units in the same period of last year. The country's economy expanded by 2.1% in the first quarter but growth was expected to have slowed significantly in the second quarter mainly on weak export demand, particularly from China.
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Passenger car sales expanded by just 0.2% to 2,665,124 units in the seven month period, reflecting a weak first quarter, while truck sales increased by 6.8% to 539,250 units and medium and large buses were up by 2.8% at 8,502 units.
Toyota sales rose 5% to 948,435 units YTD after declining also by 5% in the whole of 2018 while second-placed Honda sales were up by 5.1% at 469,392 units, Suzuki 431,266 (-0.8%), Daihatsu 400,446 units (+2.9%), Nissan 363,816 units (-6.0%) and Mazda 120,878 units (-10.8%).
Demand is likely to remain buoyant throughout the third quarter in the lead up to the government's scheduled consumption tax hike from 8% to 10% in October.
