Japanese Car Sales Up Slightly In April
April sales in Japan were up 1.5 percent in April, with sales of kei cars lagging behind resurging regular cars while imports surprise.
Sales of regular cars were up 2 percent. However, the growth came from imports which jumped a surprising 35.5 percent in April. Sales of domestics are down slightly at – 0.6 percent. This according to data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. This is a welcome change after the first quarter was down. Sales through April are down 11.4 percent with imports up 10.8 percent.
Mini vehicle sales Japan April 2013ManufacturerApr ’13Apr ’12YoYYTD ’13YTD ’12YoYSuzuki47,52846,1702.9%217,840214,9771.3%Daihatsu51,74052,477-1.4%235,144257,493-8.7%Mitsubishi3,6125,629-35.8%24,12533,634-28.3%Subaru3,7443,6103.7%20,32036,811-44.8%Honda30,32724,94721.6%151,897105,48844.0%Mazda3,6713,13916.9%19,79619,955-0.8%Nissan7,72813,024-40.7%54,92062,493-12.1%Toyota3,6501,647121.6%14,10612,78510.3%Other010-100.0%516-68.8%Total152,000150,6530.9%738,153743,652-0.7%Data courtesy Japan Mini Vehicles AssociationSales of minivehicles grew marginally. Kei cars are up 0.9 percent in April, and down 0.7 percent for the first four months , the Japan Light Motor Vehicle Association says.
Total vehicle sales Japan April 2013ManufacturerApr ’13Apr ’12YoYYTD ’13YTD ’12YoYDaihatsu51,90752,665-1.4%235,856258,541-8.8%Hino2,2792,2142.9%15,94214,6378.9%Honda48,50055,508-12.6%262,649298,025-11.9%Isuzu3,0713,0102.0%19,89021,406-7.1%Lexus3,3693,456-2.5%15,56015,605-0.3%Mazda13,69213,4451.8%80,20482,077-2.3%Mitsubishi6,4077,914-19.0%48,18756,155-14.2%Mitsubishi Fuso2,4702,24210.2%10,97412,027-8.8%Nissan37,54139,420-4.8%250,664265,363-5.5%Subaru13,3498,84750.9%67,23471,241-5.6%Suzuki53,80653,8050.0%247,337248,651-0.5%Toyota111,983104,1977.5%552,433624,766-11.6%UD Trucks517681-24.1%2,6753,168-15.6%Other (Imports)16,27412,22633.1%83,56875,40610.8%Total365,165359,6301.5%1,893,1732,047,068-7.5%Total vehicles sales are up slightly, with imports the strongest gainers. Toyota is the only Big Three automaker that is up in April.
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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Actually, Volkswagen has led the import sales for at least a decade. The Importers Association will release April's figures next week, but for fiscal year 2012 Nissan was 4th behind VW, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. Also, imports of Japanese brands are roughly a quarter of all imports. Last year, imports were about 6%, with foreign brands being about 4.5%, of all passenger vehicles (including kei).
Can we do a question of the day? What percentage of the Japanese market uses CVT. (I suspect Japanese use of CVT is one reason why it is so hard for foreign firms to succeed in Japan.) Particularly if a car is used by 3 generations parents/grandparents/children in a household). (I would consider Prius to be a CVT from a driver's perspective.)