New vehicle sales in Japan fell 21% to 451,444 units in March 2024 from 572,494 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The market had been in sharp decline since Daihatsu announced at the end of December it had suspended production in response to a safety test falsification scandal which had also affected sales of models shared with Toyota, Mazda and Subaru.
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The automaker had since resumed production of some models deemed unaffected by the cover up.
Bank of Japan last month ended its negative interest rate policy with household spending expected to pick up following recent wage hikes across the country.
In the first quarter of the year, overall vehicle sales fell 18% to 1,131,140 units from 1,381,558 a year earlier with passenger vehicle volume declining 16% to 968,085 units while truck sales plunged 29% to 160,122.
Sales of medium and large buses and coaches continued to recover from the earlier covid related travel restrictions with the market growing 22% to 2,933 units year to date (YTD).
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By GlobalDataToyota first quarter sales fell 30% to 326,854 units with deliveries also affected by a data rigging scandal at an affiliated diesel engine supplier. Daihatsu sales plunged 75% to 44,831 units YTD while Mazda sales were down 31% to 39,456 units.
Companies not affected by the recent Toyota Group scandals fared much better, including Suzuki with a 13% rise to 205,107 units; Honda 183,864 (+10%); and Nissan 147,848 (+3%).
