— Japan Jan New Vehicle Sales +40.7% Y/Y Vs Dec +23.5%
— Japan Jan New Mini-Vehicle Sales +29.0% Y/Y Vs Dec +17.6%
TOKYO (MNI) – New vehicle sales in Japan posted the fifth straight
year-on-year rise in January, thanks largely to a sharp drop in demand
the year before, data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers
Association on Wednesday showed.
New vehicle sales jumped 40.7% in January from a year earlier to
263,267 units, the highest since 313,790 in September last year.
The sales level was the highest in eight years for the month of
January, but it was still below monthly figures of 280,000 to 300,000
often seen before the government ended its reward program for buying
low-emission vehicles in September 2010.
The recent gains in sales have also been supported by the recovery
in supply chains that were battered by the March earthquake disaster.
The January reading followed rises of 23.5% in December, 24.1% in
November 28.3% in October and 1.7% in September, which was the first y/y
gain in 13 months.
Separately, the Japan Mini Vehicle Association reported that
domestic sales of new small vehicles (with engine displacement of less
than 660 cc) rose 29.0% y/y to 152,664 in January, the fourth straight
month of a year-on-year rise, following a 17.6% rise in December.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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