Japanese new vehicle sales: eco-car incentives to salvage 2012 sales to 5M units

2011 sales drops by 15.0% to 4.21 million units due to earthquake

2012/02/02

Table of contents

Summary
Second round of Eco-car Subsidy Program likely to salvage 2012 sales to five million units, 2011 sales drops by 15.0 % to 4.21 million units due to earthquake
Eco-car Subsidy Program to be revived and Eco-car Tax Break to be extended
Passenger car market: Nissan surpasses Honda to second place; imported cars' share expands
Sales volume by model: Toyota Prius holds on to first place for third consecutive year, while Honda Fit emerges to second place
Auto fleet is slightly up to 73.859 million units at the end of 2010, while mini car fleet continues to rise
(Reference) New vehicle sales in Japan by brand and vehicle type

Summary

The Great East Japan Earthquake and the flood in Thailand had a negative effect on the 2011 Japanese new vehicle sales; it dropped by 15.0% over the previous year to 4.21 million units. The sales are, however, likely to turn upward by 19.1% to five million units due to the economic stimulus packages, "Eco-car Subsidy Program" and "Eco-car Tax Break," according to JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association).

In the passenger car market, Nissan won the second largest share due to its rapid recovery from the stalled production by the earthquake. In contrast, due to the slow production recovery from the earthquake and the flooded Thailand Plant, Honda slipped to third place. As for sales by model, the Toyota Prius made it to first place for the third consecutive year despite decrease in sales by 20% over the previous year. The Honda Fit moved to second place.

This report is for paid members only.

If you register as a free member, you can read the rest of this article for a limited time.
In addition, you can also enjoy the following content for free:

Market & Tech Reports

Global automotive production/sales

Launch schedule forecasts