Automotive Dealer - Japan new car sales march 2012 ; Sales of new cars, trucks and buses in Japan rose 78% in March from a year earlier, gaining for the seventh-straight month as government subsidies for fuel-efficient cars continued to drive demand.
A lower basis of comparison in the year-earlier period, when sales were down 37% as a result of the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, also helped cause the jump in sales last month.
Sales increased to 497,959 vehicles in the most recent month from 279,389 vehicles a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said on Monday.
The figures exclude sales of minicars and minitrucks.
The nation's domestic auto sales for the fiscal year ended March 31 came to 3.06 million vehicles, up 3.1%, as a surge in sales over the past few months helped to cancel out the negative impact of the March 2011 disasters and severe flooding in Thailand late last year.
Sales rose 32% in February and 41% in January. The government decided in December on a program to provide a total of ¥300 billion ($3.62 billion) of subsidies to spark sales of fuel-efficient cars, and will start accepting applications for subsidies of ¥70,000 ($845) or ¥100,000 a vehicle in April.
Those who buy fuel-efficient cars from Dec. 20 last year to the end of January next year will be eligible to apply.
The incentives will help make up for a drop in export production at factories in Japan, as the strong yen makes cars made in Japan relatively less competitive overseas. Although the dollar has strengthened against the yen recently, some industry executives have cautioned that the yen hasn't moved enough to take pressure off Japanese car makers.
The government measures are likely to underpin auto demand for fuel-efficient cars in the coming months, but some executives warn that current robust demand will likely cause the ¥300 billion incentive package to run out before the scheduled January expiration.
Hi royuki Honma, a Honda Motor Co. 7267.TO -0.47% senior marketing executive, said the program could end a few months ahead of schedule. Seiichi Ohta, an executive at Mitsubishi Motors Corp. 7211.TO +1.06% in charge of sales in Japan, said the termination could come even earlier—before autumn.
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's biggest car maker by volume, sold 225,921 vehicles in March, about double the number a year earlier. Sales of Toyota's upscale Lexus brand rose 23% to 5,437 vehicles, according to the auto-dealers' association.
Nissan Motor Co.'s March sales rose 78% to 81,145 vehicles, while Honda said its sales increased 55% to 67,267 vehicles.
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