Positive Post Of The Day: Japanese Sales To Grow 4 Percent

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Japan surely can use some good news, what with pedal-gate and Standard & Poors warning that they might downgrade Japan’s sovereign debt rating from stellar to less than stellar. CSM to the rescue: They think, vehicle sales in Japan could grow by 4 percent in 2010. Honto? What’s driving sales go motto-motto? Government stimulus money.

“Consumer sentiment remains depressed in Japan, but the new car market entered a recovery phase in the second half of 2009 as the government’s eco-car tax cut policy and scrappage incentive programs gathered momentum,” said Yoshiaki Kawano, Japan/Korea sales forecast analyst of CSM. “The government’s recent decision to extend the scrappage program through September, combined with stronger economic fundamentals, will help drive full-year sales modestly higher.”

After enduring a 30 drop to 7.5 million units, vehicle production in Japan should also recover this year, says CSM after a read of the (green) tea leaves. A production of 8.6m units, and an increase of 15 percent should be in the cards, figures CSM.

Sugoi ne!


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • DanTT DanTT on Jan 28, 2010

    I agree with most of your post however I wouldn't quote anything from Standard and Poor's since they just aren't credible: 1. Listing risky CDO's as AAA 2. Failing to predict the troubled financial situation of major banks Sounds to me like their analysts are lazy, overpaid and wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_and_poors

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