Japanese Domestic Market Sales Up 17.3% In October, Kei Car Growth May Stall With New Taxes

Manufacturer	Month (A)	Previous year (B)	A / B (%)	This year total	Previous year total	Year-on-year (%)
Daihatsu	194	241	80.5	1939	2303	84.2
Fuji Heavy Industries	13121	11851	110.7	99888	76721	130.2
Hino	5524	4704	117.4	34737	32041	108.4
Honda	39398	26186	150.5	238177	365294	65.2
Isuzu	8259	6915	119.4	47349	46223	102.4
Mazda	16669	15531	107.3	131909	136678	96.5
Mitsubishi	4194	3550	118.1	31980	40397	79.2
Mitsubishi Fuso	3803	2988	127.3	26533	26569	99.9
Nissan	47534	48502	98	362177	371501	97.5
Perch	6908	7289	94.8	61243	72230	84.8
Toyota	140228	124025	113.1	1166595	1295876	90
UD Trucks	1024	856	119.6	6672	6886	96.9
Imported car	37459	35841	104.5	257873	233609	110.4
Total	324315	288479	112.4	2467072	2706328	91.2

With a sales tax increase of 3% looming next year and the Japanese economy on an upswing, October retail sales of cars and light trucks in Japan were up over 17% from the same month last year, with both regular and mini "kei" cars doing well. Honda led all companies with a 50% increase from 2012 and Toyota taking first place in overall sales with a little over 140,000 units sold, up 13%.

Last month kei cars were also up, with an increase of over 25%. Some analysts feel that the growth in kei cars will be short lived, even though both Honda and Daihatsu will be showing kei concepts at the upcoming Tokyo auto show. To compensate Japanese consumers for the increase in sales tax, it is likely that acquisition taxes on regular cars will be reduced. The new scheme will ultimately be based on fuel economy and since kei cars are not particularly fuel efficient despite their small displacement engines, taxes on kei cars will probably go up. Also, trade negotiations may mean the end of favorable tax treatment to the little cars. The Nikkei news agency reports of, "external pressure to increase taxes on minicars." Japan is currently negotiating with the EU, trying to get the Europeans to eliminate their 10% tariff on new cars and in exchange it may sacrifice the tax advantages of kei cars, which are only made by Japanese manufacturers. That would theoretically open up more of the Japanese market to imports, which currently make up about 11.5% of JDM sales.

Source: Japan Automobile Dealers Association

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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