Japan In December 2012: A Much Better Year Than Some Predicted
The Japanese new car market ended the year 2012 up 27.5 percent to 5,369,721 units. You may read other numbers elsewhere, but that’s because it is often overlooked that regular vehicles and mini vehicles are reported separately in Japan. At TTAC, we consolidate them as a service to our readers.
Japan ends the year without the big double-digit drop some prophesied for the last quarter after government incentives expired in September. The market is down slightly in December, and up strongly for the year.
Regular vehicle sales Japan December 2012ManufacturerDec ’12Dec ’11YoYYTD ’12YTD ’11YoYDaihatsu210227-7.5%2,9903,101-3.6%Hino3,9963,44616.0%42,46334,23824.0%Honda18,88630,943-39.0%423,904378,53012.0%Isuzu5,4054,29425.9%59,80542,09642.1%Lexus2,9672,24232.3%43,65742,3653.0%Mazda9,2919,2160.8%165,755144,45214.7%Mitsubishi3,5083,4461.8%60,39754,9519.9%Mitsubishi Fuso2,8852,58411.6%34,71527,03228.4%Nissan31,10334,126-8.9%506,518445,93713.6%Subaru11,2936,84764.9%108,07173,80646.4%Suzuki4,9225,758-14.5%88,18176,76514.9%Toyota91,74094,970-3.4%1,603,1501,151,07539.3%UD Trucks738876-15.8%9,1048,4697.5%Other27,48522,98519.6%241,564206,25717.1%Total214,429221,960-3.4%3,390,2742,689,07426.1%Data courtesy Japan Automobile Dealers AssociationSales of regular vehicles were down 3.4 percent in December and up 26.1 percent for the year, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association reports. Honda and Nissan were underperforming, Toyota outperformed the market.
Mini vehicle sales Japan December 2012ManufacturerDec ’12Dec ’11YoYYTD ’12YTD ’11YoYSuzuki35,38637,901-6.6%584,957476,13822.9%Daihatsu41,48647,351-12.4%674,181545,17823.7%Mitsubishi4,9646,728-26.2%80,09692,673-13.6%Subaru2,8848,606-66.5%69,65184,895-18.0%Honda25,91210,516146.4%321,301125,002157.0%Mazda3,0962,9166.2%52,60645,47315.7%Nissan7,94311,034-28.0%153,337145,4335.4%Toyota2,4022,1889.8%43,2596,308585.8%Other25-60.0%594531.1%Total124,075127,245-2.5%1,979,4471,521,14530.1%Data courtesy Japan Mini Vehicles AssociationSales of mini vehicles fell in line with their bigger brothers after having been ahead for the previous months: Up 30.1 percent for the year, and down 2.5 percent for December, according to data provided by the Japan Mini Vehicles Association. Honda continues its attack of the mini vehicle market with its highly successful NBOX series.
Total vehicle sales Japan December 2012ManufacturerDec ’12Dec ’11YoYYTD ’12YTD ’11YoYDaihatsu41,69647,578-12.4%677,171548,27923.5%Hino3,9963,44616.0%42,46334,23824.0%Honda44,79841,4598.1%745,205503,53248.0%Isuzu5,4054,29425.9%59,80542,09642.1%Lexus2,9672,24232.3%43,65742,3653.0%Mazda12,38712,1322.1%218,361189,92515.0%Mitsubishi8,47210,174-16.7%140,493147,624-4.8%Mitsubishi Fuso2,8852,58411.6%34,71527,03228.4%Nissan39,04645,160-13.5%659,855591,37011.6%Subaru14,17715,453-8.3%177,722158,70112.0%Suzuki40,30843,659-7.7%673,138552,90321.7%Toyota94,14297,158-3.1%1,646,4091,157,38342.3%UD Trucks738876-15.8%9,1048,4697.5%Other27,48722,99019.6%241,623206,30217.1%Total338,504349,205-3.1%5,369,7214,210,21927.5%Consolidated, the Japanese market ends in much better shape than many predicted: Up 27.5 percent for the year, and only a slight 3.1 percent loss in December, compared to a subsidized previous year.
This year will be a different story.
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
So, what's the best-performing import brand?
GM better get started on the Japanese market if they ever intend to outsell Toyota again in global sales. Toyota group sold more than 2.3 Million cars in Japan. GM likely sold less than 10,000 Units.