New vehicle sales in Japan rose only slightly to 438,733 units in September 2024, compared with 437,493 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).
The domestic market is still struggling to recover from a series of safety testing scandals since late last year, when Daihatsu was ordered to halt production of several key models, which it also shares with other brands including Toyota, for several months to make. Mazda and Subaru. After Daihatsu was allowed to resume full production in May, Toyota was banned in June from supplying three additional models, the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross, after Japan’s transport ministry discovered new irregularities in safety testing. Production of these models resumed in early September.
The latest macro data show that Japan’s economy rebounded at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the second quarter, following a 2.3% contraction in the first quarter, driven by a recovery in private consumption, including consumer spending and business activity.
In the first nine months of 2024, the car market fell by almost 9% to 3,299,869 units, after growing 16% to 3,607,486 in the same period last year, with passenger car sales falling by 8% to 2,776,462 units, while truck sales fell by more than 12% to 515,533 units. Sales of medium and large buses continued to grow strongly during this period, by 32% to 7,874 units.
Toyota sales fell 17% to 998,339 units this year, while Daihatsu sales fell 44% to 245,686 units and Mazda sales fell 26% to 103,645 units. Companies not affected by the Toyota Group’s recent scandals fared much better, including Suzuki with an increase of 11% to 548,122 units and Honda with 515,425 units (+21%), while Nissan’s sales were slightly higher at 370,340 units. were lower.
Overseas brands account for just over 5% of total car sales in Japan, led by German automakers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW-Mini, Audi and Volkswagen. China’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD Auto has previously strengthened its Japanese offering as it looks to establish a strong prior presence in the country’s emerging zero-emission vehicle segment.
“Japan Car Sales Flat in September” was originally created and published by Just Cara brand owned by GlobalData.
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