Car Advice
  • Home
  • »  Japan’s car industry at 32 year low

Japan’s car industry at 32 year low

By Matt Brogan |

JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association) today forecast that 2009 would be the slowest year for domestic vehicle sales in Japan since 1977-78, and that it would be seeking government assistance to help stimulate recession-hit demand.

Demand for passenger cars in Japan, the world’s third-biggest market, has fallen for the past three years largely because of a population shift to cities, which are well-served by public transportation, but has been exacerbated further by the global economic crisis with the Japanese now waiting longer to replace their aging vehicles.

“With the Japanese economy weakening and the outlook for employment looking very uncertain, consumers are in no mood to buy a car,” JAMA Chairman Satoshi Aoki said.

JAMA is counting on a bill, expected to pass in the coming week with the government’s broader budget plan, that would put incentives on the purchase of low-emission cars to help boost slowing sales by an estimated 310,000 additional vehicles over the 2009-10 business year.

But Aoki added that more stimulus was needed and referenced Germany’s successful car-scrapping incentive program as an example of something that could be implemented in Japan.

“We need to prop up demand further on a broader basis,” Mr Aoki said. “Germany’s system could be one guide, and we want to seek help from the government.”

The German government is offering car owners 2,500 euros (AU$4,819) if they turn in vehicles over nine years old and switch to new models with lower emissions. The plan has helped the country’s new car sales jump 21 per cent in February from a year earlier, for the first rise in half a year.


 
  • Frontman

    As much as our glorious leader wants to not have protectionism in the market place, just watch what happens in Japan now!

  • Yianni

    Well it’s a kick in the guts with the Japanese manufacturers raising prices in Australia even though demand is very low at the moment as we can see from this article.

    The high JPY has a lot to do with it but that’s just how it is at the moment.

    Anyone will tell you that in a period of low demand or when a product doesn’t sell then they drop the price but unfortunately they can’t do this as they will probably start losing money.

    It’s a catch 22 situation for most manufacturers right now especially in countries like Australia where the currency has lost value.

  • Pious

    the public transport is so good over there (apart from perak hour crush, which is unbelievable on trains or buses), and so cheap, and it is soooo hard to park a car there (in the city) that it is no wonder people dont buy them in the cities. This was a trend well before the economic meltdown, with people buying the little cars like cubes etc, rather than anything big or performance.

  • mark

    introduce the scheme here only on locally manufactured cars and that will help sales.

  • Andrew M

    Frontman,
    ha ha ha ha ha
    thats what I reckon too.

    in these coming times it will be every man (country) for himself sort of stuff, yet good ole Australia will still put up the hand milky bar kid style.

    If only they promoted how uncooperative other countries are, then the general public might not like the way Rudd responds on our behalf

  • Cupid Stunt

    Pious – I reckon that point about city dwellers not buying cars is going to be a much bigger problem in the future. We’re getting hammered buy the Politicians to get out of oour cars and stop poluting etc etc etc. What they have clearly not thought about is the effects on the vehicle industries they they readily sponsor and encourage to over-produce. Doesn’t take a lot of common sense to work it out. Guess thats the so-called intelligent folk we vote for to run our little lives.