New vehicle sales in Japan: increased to 4.956 million in 2010 supported by government subsidies
Toyota Prius sold 316,000, posting new record annual sales by model
2011/03/15
- Japan's new vehicle sales in 2010 increased to 4.956 million for the first time in six years supported by government subsidies, whereas they are expected to decline to 4.465 million in 2011
- New vehicle sales were boosted by more than 20% until August 2010 by the government subsidies, but fell more than 20% after the termination of the subsidies
- Passenger car market: Toyota boosted its share to 45.7% while Honda and Suzuki lose their share
- Sales volume by model: Toyota Prius sold 315,669, registering new record annual sales by model
- In 2009, the ownership of vehicles declined by 183,000 while that of mini vehicles increased by 533,000
- The duration of ownership is lengthening with passenger cars older than 13 years accounting for 12.5% of the total
- (Reference) New vehicle sales in Japan by vehicle types and auto manufacturers
Japan's new vehicle sales in 2010 increased to 4.956 million for the first time in six years supported by government subsidies, whereas they are expected to decline to 4.465 million in 2011
In 2010, new vehicle sales in Japan increased for the first time in six years, up 7.5% year-on-year to 4.956 million. Their sales were bolstered by the government's subsidies for purchasing new vehicles, which it provided from April 10, 2009 to September 7, 2010. However, the figure did not reach the level of 5.082 million in 2008 before the onset of a recession.
The sales volume of registered vehicles (excl. mini vehicles) grew by 10.6% year-on-year in 2010 to 3.23 million and that of mini vehicles increased by 2.3% to 1.726 million. The growth of registered vehicles is higher than that of mini vehicles because the government provided more subsidies for registered vehicles. The percentage of mini vehicles in the total vehicle sales fell below 35% for the first time in five years to 34.8%.
According to the forecast for 2011 announced by Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) in December 2010, new vehicle sales will decline by 9.9% to 4.465 million, which is below the sluggish 2009 sales volume of 4.609 million. Particularly, sales of registered vehicles, which were sufficiently supported by the subsidies, are expected to decline significantly by 13.1% to 2.808 million (sales of mini vehicles are expected to fall by 4.0% to 1.657 million)
(Note) The following outlines the Japanese government subsidies. (1) The government provides 250,000 JPY per passenger car (registered vehicles) and 125,000 JPY per passenger car (mini vehicles) when the purchaser scraps her vehicle aged 13 years or older and buys a vehicle that meets the 2010 fuel consumption standard.
(2) When the consumer does not scrap their vehicle and purchases a vehicle that achieves a 75% reduction from the 2005 emission standard and also a 15% improvement from the 2010 fuel consumption standard, the government provides 100,000 JPY per passenger car (registered vehicles) and 50,000 JPY per passenger car (mini vehicles).
Japan's new vehicle sales by vehicle types |
| (1,000 units) |
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 forecast | Jan. 2010 | Jan. 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger car | Standard | 1,358 | 1,271 | 1,226 | 1,299 | 1,251 | 1,160 | 1,420 | 2,523 | 106 | 74 |
| Compact | 2,038 | 2,090 | 1,908 | 1,654 | 1,550 | 1,480 | 1,508 | 114 | 93 | ||
| Mini | 1,372 | 1,387 | 1,508 | 1,447 | 1,427 | 1,283 | 1,285 | 1,259 | 100 | 92 | |
| Total | 4,768 | 4,748 | 4,642 | 4,400 | 4,228 | 3,924 | 4,212 | 3,782 | 320 | 259 | |
| Truck | Standard | 187 | 198 | 209 | 172 | 147 | 88 | 102 | 99 | 5 | 6 |
| Compact | 361 | 352 | 355 | 293 | 250 | 181 | 188 | 174 | 12 | 13 | |
| Mini | 519 | 537 | 516 | 473 | 443 | 405 | 442 | 398 | 28 | 27 | |
| Total | 1,067 | 1,086 | 1,080 | 938 | 839 | 673 | 731 | 671 | 46 | 46 | |
| Bus | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 1 | |
| All types | Total (A) | 5,853 | 5,852 | 5,739 | 5,354 | 5,082 | 4,609 | 4,956 | 4,465 | 367 | 305 |
| Registered vehicle | 3,962 | 3,928 | 3,716 | 3,434 | 3,212 | 2,921 | 3,230 | 2,808 | 238 | 187 | |
| Mini (B) | 1,891 | 1,924 | 2,024 | 1,920 | 1,870 | 1,688 | 1,726 | 1,657 | 128 | 118 | |
| Ratio of mini (=B/A) | 32.3% | 32.9% | 35.3% | 35.9% | 36.8% | 36.6% | 34.8% | 37.1% | 35.0% | 38.7% | |
| Source: Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA) and Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) | |
| (Note) 1. | The 2011 forecast is announced by JAMA (December 17, 2010). |
| 2. | For detailed information on new vehicle sales, see the table of break down by brands and vehicle types at the end of this report. |
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