Japan In July 2012: Sales Jump 36 Percent In Last Banzai
Japanese new car sales jumped in July while the business is getting ready to enter negative territory during the rest of the year.
Sales of regular new cars, trucks and buses rose 36.1 percent to 328,543 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
Separately reported sales of mini vehicles jumped 40.3 percent to 184,582 in July, the Japan Mini Vehicles Association reports.
The double digit gains are expected to be over in the coming months. For one thing, we will be comparing with 2011 months where sales hat recovered from the March 11 catastrophe. On top of that, a government subsidy program is expected to end this month. This caused a last minute run on cars, and will translate into empty showrooms in the months to come.
Regular vehicle sales Japan July ’12ManufacturerJuly ’12July ’11YoYYTD ’12YTD ’11YoYDaihatsu272316-13.9%1,8511,56818.0%Hino2,9292,65010.5%24,20516,35548.0%Honda45,62733,71135.3%314,899209,48450.3%Isuzu4,7643,55933.9%34,99820,98866.8%Lexus4,4814,528-1.0%27,34422,27322.8%Mazda16,89018,035-6.3%108,32183,40429.9%Mitsubishi3,8564,740-18.6%34,34432,3216.3%Mitsubishi Fuso2,8352,13332.9%21,09912,64066.9%Nissan44,88541,8107.4%323,296251,50728.5%Subaru10,1916,17964.9%58,07241,87238.7%Suzuki8,2697,13116.0%58,81446,20527.3%Toyota165,666101,79062.8%1,037,149584,14477.6%UD Trucks600700-14.3%5,4453,86041.1%Other17,27814,19021.8%135,640110,03023.3%Total328,543241,47236.1%2,185,4771,436,65152.1%This table shows sales of registered vehicles only. We will show mini vehicles and consolidated data when the kei car association delivers.
Strongly resurgent Toyota sold 165,666 registered units, up 62.8 percent. In July, Toyota held more than 50 percent of the registered vehicle market. Honda’s comes second with sales up 35.3 percent to 45,627 vehicles, close behind is Nissan, up 7.4 percent to 44,885 units.
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
Why does the horse in the cartoon have two mouths?