Japan's new vehicle market fell by 4% to 640,811 units in March 2019 from already weak year earlier sales of 667,277 units, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Sales were also lower in the first quarter of the year, by 0.8% at 1,528,213 units from 1,540,693 in the same period of last year.
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Economic indicators have turned increasingly negative in recent months, after the economy rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2018 from a series of natural disasters in the third quarter. Exports weakened sharply in the first quarter due mainly to weak demand in China, while manufacturing PMI hit a two year low.
Truck sales increased by 6.5% to 247,373 units in this period, but this was more than offset by a 2.1% decline in passenger car sales to 1,276,357 units after sales turned negative in March. Sales of medium and large buses fell by 1.4% to 4,483 units.
Toyota's sales rose by 1.5% to 425,694 units year-to-date after declining by 5% in the whole of 2018; while second-placed Honda's sales were up by just 0.7% at 220,495 units; Suzuki 211,105 (+5.2%); Daihatsu 192,670 units (+2.5%); Nissan 186,295 units (-9.6%); and Mazda 64,757 units (-8.7%).
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