Japan In April 2012: Post Tsunami Syndrome

Sales of cars in Japan nearly doubled in April. Sales of registered vehicles rose 92 percent to 208,977 units from 108,824 a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealer Association reports.  Sales of separately tallied mini vehicles rose 96 percent, according to data provided by the Japan Mini Vehicles Association. Consolidated, the market rose 93.7 percent. This does not include imports, which will be reported at a later date. To put the huge jump in perspective, one has to realize that we are comparing with post-tsunami Japan. In April 2011, sales of registered vehicles had crashed by 51 percent while Japan was digging out of the rubble and battled with parts shortages. On top of this base effect, sales in Japan are helped by subsidies given to buyers of fuel efficient cars. Customers receive subsidies between Y70,000 ($875) and Y100,000 ($1,240) per new vehicle until the budget runs out. Sales of registered vehicles, Japan, April 2012 Manufacturer Apr'12 Apr'11 YoY YTD'12 YTD'11 Change Daihatsu 188 47 300.0% 1,048 897 16.8% Hino 2,214 1,166 89.9% 14,637 10,915 34.1% Honda 30,561 18,923 61.5% 192,537 124,439 54.7% Isuzu 3,010 1,709 76.1% 21,406 13,030 64.3% Lexus 3,456 1,656 108.7% 15,605 12,164 28.3% Mazda 10,306 6,598 56.2% 62,122 46,518 33.5% Mitsubishi 2,285 3,515 -35.0% 22,521 18,258 23.3% Mitsubishi Fuso 2,242 1,281 75.0% 12,027 7,816 53.9% Nissan 26,396 17,413 51.6% 202,870 136,547 48.6% Subaru 5,237 3,806 37.6% 34,430 23,677 45.4% Suzuki 7,635 4,288 78.1% 33,674 26,852 25.4% Toyota 102,550 35,557 188.4% 611,981 345,950 76.9% UD Trucks 681 291 134.0% 3,168 2,255 40.5% Other 12,216 12,574 -2.8% 75,390 58,683 28.5% Total 208,977 108,824 92.0% 1,303,416 828,001 57.4% In the registered vehicle department, Toyota  nearly tripled its sales in April. YTD, Nissan and Honda are neck-on-neck. Sales of mini vehicles, Japan, April 2012 Manufacturer Apr'12 Apr'11 YoY YTD'12 YTD'11 Change Suzuki 46,170 24,335 89.7% 214,977 153,521 40.0% Daihatsu 52,478 24,418 114.9% 257,494 171,877 49.8% Mitsubishi 5,629 5,185 8.6% 33,634 34,972 -3.8% Subaru 3,610 4,918 -26.6% 36,811 27,928 31.8% Honda 24,947 8,166 205.5% 105,488 48,051 119.5% Mazda 3,139 3,164 -0.8% 19,955 16,281 22.6% Nissan 13,025 6,657 95.7% 62,494 49,410 26.5% Toyota 1,647 0 12,785 Other 9 5 80.0% 15 15 0.0% Total 150,654 76,848 96.0% 743,653 502,055 48.1% As far as mini vehicles go, Toyota's kei car division Daihatsu leads YTD and in April. Honda has the biggest percentage jump. Consolidated sales (ex imports,) Japan, April 2012 Manufacturer Apr'12 Apr'11 YoY MS Apr'12 MS Apr'11 Daihatsu 52,666 24,465 115.3% 14.6% 13.2% Hino 2,214 1,166 89.9% 0.6% 0.6% Honda 55,508 27,089 104.9% 15.4% 14.6% Isuzu 3,010 1,709 76.1% 0.8% 0.9% Lexus 3,456 1,656 108.7% 1.0% 0.9% Mazda 13,445 9,762 37.7% 3.7% 5.3% Mitsubishi 7,914 8,700 -9.0% 2.2% 4.7% Mitsubishi Fuso 2,242 1,281 75.0% 0.6% 0.7% Nissan 39,421 24,070 63.8% 11.0% 13.0% Subaru 8,847 8,724 1.4% 2.5% 4.7% Suzuki 53,805 28,623 88.0% 15.0% 15.4% Toyota 104,197 35,557 193.0% 29.0% 19.2% UD Trucks 681 291 134.0% 0.2% 0.2% Other 12,225 12,579 -2.8% 3.4% 6.8% Total 359,631 185,672 93.7% Consolidated, the Toyota Motor Corporation companies lead the market by a wide margin, albeit with a little less than the mythical 50 percent market share.   from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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