Mini vehicle hangover brings Japanese car sales down

Honda NBOX - Picture courtesy Bertel Schmitt

Japan’s new automobile registrations were down 7.6 percent in May. It was the mini vehicles that brought the market to its knees, after a change in taxes had caused a run on kei cars in the first quarter. Mini vehicles were down nearly 20 percent in May. Regular vehicles were up 1.4 percent.

Japan’s big loser was Honda, reporting sales down 13.6 percent in May. Nissan lost 10.3 percent, Toyota 9.7 percent. Imports were up more than 10 percent. Complete tables of May and year-to-date sales can be found here.

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