Japan In October 2011: Up By A Good Clip

by Bertel Schmitt

Updated: November 16th, 2011 Published: November 1st, 2011

Regular Vehicle Sales Japan October 2011

ManufacturerOct ’11Oc t ’10ChangeFYTD’11FYTD’10ChangeDaihatsu44128952.6%2,5785,364-51.9%Hino2,7941,62871.6%27,72424,07715.1%Honda36,35530,42219.5%314,810425,375-26.0%Isuzu2,9372,59713.1%33,61737,321-9.9%Lexus4,3082,068108.3%36,32829,81421.8%Mazda11,4576,09588.0%124,357159,803-22.2%Mitsubishi4,0632,50062.5%46,95561,859-24.1%Mitsubishi Fuso2,9311,88355.7%21,28920,6103.3%Nissan33,63125,37332.5%372,341442,894-15.9%Subaru5,7853,13884.4%62,11869,562-10.7%Suzuki6,0254,45035.4%64,92750,53528.5%Toyota122,208101,51820.4%935,8001,357,027-31.0%UD Trucks85546185.5%6,6386,951-4.5%Other14,13710,83630.5%165,396155,6126.3%Total247,927193,25828.3%2,214,8782,846,804-22.2%

Sales of new cars in Japan rose 28.3 percent in October to 247,927 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association reports today. For the current fiscal year (April-October), sales are still 22.2 percent in the hole at 2,214,878 units, compared to 2,846,804 units sold in the same period of 2010. The numbers do not include sales of separately reported minivehicles. The numbers are not a sign of newfound health. They are simply the effect of a comparison with a market that had crashed in fall 2010 after subsidies were withdrawn.

Sales of mini, or kei cars rose 19.9 percent in October year-on-year, the Japan Mini Vehicle Association reports. While the growth looks less dramatic than regular cars, Japanese kei cars had not fallen as deep. For the tens month of the calendar year, sales are only down 16.5 percent.

Mini Vehicle Sales Japan October 2011

ManufacturerOct ’11Oct ’10ChangeYTD’11YTD’10ChangeSuzuki39,26540,671-3.5%392,996485,909-19.1%Daihatsu52,14840,16029.9%445,466523,890-15.0%Mitsubishi6,0746,333-4.1%79,03992,925-14.9%Subaru6,4935,82211.5%66,96785,721-21.9%Honda10,3067,32240.8%106,336138,548-23.2%Mazda3,8222,50552.6%38,60644,556-13.4%Nissan13,2268,25560.2%119,064126,253-5.7%Toyota1,84502,061Other82300.0%3779-53.2%Total133,187111,07019.9%1,250,5721,497,881-16.5%

Careful: Fiscal (April-October) year for regular cars, calendar (January-October) year for kei cars. Who says it’s easy.

Consolidated across mini and regular vehicles, sales grew 25.2 percent according to our spreadsheet. No year-to-date numbers due to the aforementioned differences.

All Vehicle Sales Japan October 2011, Consolidated

ManufacturerOct ’11Oct ’10ChangeDaihatsu52,58940,44930.0%Hino2,7941,62871.6%Honda46,66137,74423.6%Isuzu2,9372,59713.1%Lexus4,3082,068108.3%Mazda15,2798,60077.7%Mitsubishi10,1378,83314.8%Mitsubishi Fuso2,9311,88355.7%Nissan46,85733,62839.3%Subaru12,2788,96037.0%Suzuki45,29045,1210.4%Toyota124,053101,51822.2%UD Trucks85546185.5%Other14,14510,83830.5%Total381,114304,32825.2%

#BertelSchmitt #Japan #October2011 #Sales

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.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 6 comments

GoFaster58 on Nov 01, 2011

How does Hyundai and Kia compare to these numbers?

Like Reply
MrWhopee on Nov 01, 2011

Wow, Daihatsu only sells hundreds of cars each months? And their sales fell by half this year? Not even 300 units a month? That's one seriously small niche manufacturers. Good thing they're hitched to Toyota then, otherwise they would be extinct long ago. I thought Kei cars were big in Japan?

Like Reply
- Bertel Schmitt on Nov 02, 2011
  
  Whopee: Daihatsu sells hundreds of regular cars, but tens of thousands of Kei cars.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Jeff Self driving cars are not ready for prime time.
Lichtronamo Watch as the non-us based automakers shift more production to Mexico in the future.
28-Cars-Later " Electrek recently dug around in Tesla’s online parts catalog and found that the windshield costs a whopping $1,900 to replace.To be fair, that’s around what a Mercedes S-Class or Rivian windshield costs, but the Tesla’s glass is unique because of its shape. It’s also worth noting that most insurance plans have glass replacement options that can make the repair a low- or zero-cost issue. "Now I understand why my insurance is so high despite no claims for years and about 7,500 annual miles between three cars.
AMcA My theory is that that when the Big 3 gave away the store to the UAW in the last contract, there was a side deal in which the UAW promised to go after the non-organized transplant plants. Even the UAW understands that if the wage differential gets too high it's gonna kill the golden goose.
MKizzy Why else does range matter? Because in the EV advocate's dream scenario of a post-ICE future, the average multi-car household will find itself with more EVs in their garages and driveways than places to plug them in or the capacity to charge then all at once without significant electrical upgrades. Unless each vehicle has enough range to allow for multiple days without plugging in, fighting over charging access in multi-EV households will be right up there with finances for causes of domestic strife.