Japan In February 2012: Market In Full Bloom

When Toyota announced an ambitious sales plan for 2012, and the intention to raise sales in Japan by 36 percent, a common reaction was: "Excuse me?" In February 2011, sales of passenger vehicles excluding minivehicles had been down 14.3 percent. Sales in Japan had been down for most of the year, as a result of cut subsidies. When smaller inducements came back in fall, sales were up again. We are comparing with a low base. As matters are coming back to normal we better get used to a stretch of double digit gains. Compared to the low base, Toyota's plan is entirely doable. So far, the market complies and Toyota is on target. February 2012 Sales Japan, Excluding Minivehicles Manufacturer Feb'12 Feb'11 YoY YTD'12 YTD'11 Change Daihatsu 287 286 0.3% 486 555 -12.4% Hino 3,094 2,609 18.6% 5,452 4,641 17.5% Honda 50,440 34,387 46.7% 94,709 62,187 52.3% Isuzu 4,657 3,164 47.2% 8,101 5,309 52.6% Lexus 3,554 3,473 2.3% 6,712 6,091 10.2% Mazda 14,115 13,381 5.5% 26,977 24,600 9.7% Mitsubishi 5,655 4,285 32.0% 10,404 8,009 29.9% Mitsubishi Fuso 2,638 1,884 40.0% 4,646 3,263 42.4% Nissan 55,679 44,212 25.9% 95,329 73,434 29.8% Subaru 7,606 7,406 2.7% 13,523 12,297 10.0% Suzuki 7,613 7,632 -0.2% 13,984 14,052 -0.5% Toyota 158,877 115,000 38.2% 283,510 199,726 41.9% UD Trucks 690 600 15.0% 1,245 1,017 22.4% Other 18,308 14,315 27.9% 31,402 24,607 27.6% Total 333,213 252,634 31.9% 596,480 439,788 35.6% In February, Japan's domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses excluding minivehicles rose 31.9 percent  from a year earlier to 333,213 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association says. The market is up for the sixth consecutive month. February 2012 Sales Japan, Minivehicles Manufacturer Feb'12 Feb'11 YoY YTD'12 YTD'11 Change Suzuki 52,018 45,339 14.7% 94,346 82,810 13.9% Daihatsu 63,969 50,937 25.6% 117,763 92,983 26.7% Mitsubishi 8,875 9,481 -6.4% 16,222 16,186 0.2% Subaru 9,572 8,187 16.9% 18,327 14,131 29.7% Honda 26,715 14,353 86.1% 46,494 25,011 85.9% Mazda 5,247 4,191 25.2% 9,870 8,006 23.3% Nissan 16,440 16,167 1.7% 29,771 27,865 6.8% Toyota 3,574 0 6,273 Other 3 3 0.0% 4 6 -33.3% Total 186,413 148,658 25.4% 339,070 266,998 27.0% Sales of minivehicles were up 27 percent to 186,413 units in February, data of the Japan Mini Vehicles Association shows. The share of minivehicles was 36 percent in February. February 2012 Sales Japan, All Vehicles Manufacturer Feb'12 Feb'11 YoY MS Feb'12 MS Feb'11 Daihatsu 64,256 51,223 25.4% 12.4% 12.8% Hino 3,094 2,609 18.6% 0.6% 0.7% Honda 77,155 48,740 58.3% 14.8% 12.1% Isuzu 4,657 3,164 47.2% 0.9% 0.8% Lexus 3,554 3,473 2.3% 0.7% 0.9% Mazda 19,362 17,572 10.2% 3.7% 4.4% Mitsubishi 14,530 13,766 5.5% 2.8% 3.4% Mitsubishi Fuso 2,638 1,884 40.0% 0.5% 0.5% Nissan 72,119 60,379 19.4% 13.9% 15.0% Subaru 17,178 15,593 10.2% 3.3% 3.9% Suzuki 59,631 52,971 12.6% 11.5% 13.2% Toyota 162,451 115,000 41.3% 31.3% 28.7% UD Trucks 690 600 15.0% 0.1% 0.1% Other 18,311 14,318 27.9% 3.5% 3.6% Total 519,626 401,292 29.5% Overall, the market is up 29.5 percent. Toyota and Honda are gaining, Nissan and Suzuki are losing market share.   from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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