Auto Sales in Japan Drop to a 35-Year Low
01-08-08, 07:37 PM
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Auto Sales in Japan Drop to a 35-Year Low
From todays WSJ:
"Auto Sales in Japan Drop to a 35-Year Low
By Yoshio Takahashi
Tokyo - Japan's domestic auto sales fell to a 35-year low last year amid high gasoline prices and the country's shrinking population.
Sales of new cars, trucks, and buses declined 7.6% to 3.434 million vehicles in 2007, the Japan Automobile Dealer's Association said. That was the fourth straight yearly decline and marked the lowest level since 1972, when sales totaled 3.406 million vehicles. The sales figures don't include minicars or minitrucks.
The data show that the world's third biggest auto market is finding it hard to recover despite efforts by some Japanese car makers to spark demand with new models. Toyota Motor Corp., for instance, has introduced nine models since last May, the company estimates that its domestic sales fell 6% in 2007.
The outlook for the domestic market remains gloomy. This year's auto sales, including sales of minivehicles, are forecast to fall 1.2% to about 5.319 million vehicles, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, an industry group. It expects sales excluding minivehicles to fall 0.2% to 3.427 million this year.
Meanwhile, new vehicle sales in December fell 7.1% from a year earlier to 236,142 vehicles, down for the first time in three months, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said.
Mitsubishi Fuso's sales in December fell 43.4%, the biggest percentage drop, followed by Lexus with a decline of 34.5%. Isuzu ranked third with a 30.6% fall."
We certainly don't have a shrinking population in the US but it is pretty easy to see how a potential economy stumble (maybe recession or maybe just no bubble to inflate for the first time in ten or fifteen years) in the US will not be an isolated event even with India and China.
"Auto Sales in Japan Drop to a 35-Year Low
By Yoshio Takahashi
Tokyo - Japan's domestic auto sales fell to a 35-year low last year amid high gasoline prices and the country's shrinking population.
Sales of new cars, trucks, and buses declined 7.6% to 3.434 million vehicles in 2007, the Japan Automobile Dealer's Association said. That was the fourth straight yearly decline and marked the lowest level since 1972, when sales totaled 3.406 million vehicles. The sales figures don't include minicars or minitrucks.
The data show that the world's third biggest auto market is finding it hard to recover despite efforts by some Japanese car makers to spark demand with new models. Toyota Motor Corp., for instance, has introduced nine models since last May, the company estimates that its domestic sales fell 6% in 2007.
The outlook for the domestic market remains gloomy. This year's auto sales, including sales of minivehicles, are forecast to fall 1.2% to about 5.319 million vehicles, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, an industry group. It expects sales excluding minivehicles to fall 0.2% to 3.427 million this year.
Meanwhile, new vehicle sales in December fell 7.1% from a year earlier to 236,142 vehicles, down for the first time in three months, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said.
Mitsubishi Fuso's sales in December fell 43.4%, the biggest percentage drop, followed by Lexus with a decline of 34.5%. Isuzu ranked third with a 30.6% fall."
We certainly don't have a shrinking population in the US but it is pretty easy to see how a potential economy stumble (maybe recession or maybe just no bubble to inflate for the first time in ten or fifteen years) in the US will not be an isolated event even with India and China.
01-08-08, 08:29 PM
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7.6% is a huge decline. Wow, German had a huge one too. And the USA didn't do as well in 2007 but still much better than those 2 countries. The Lexus December decline is awful!
That is why the Germans and Japanese companies continue to do whatever it takes to win the American consumer.
That is why the Germans and Japanese companies continue to do whatever it takes to win the American consumer.
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