Japanese Sales Of New Cars Drop Record 51% In April

TOKYO - Japan's domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses registered their biggest decline ever in April, an industry group said Monday that the March earthquake and tsunami affected production and shipments to dealers.


Sales were 108,824 units in April, up 51 percent from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said dealers.


Drop, much steeper than the decline 37 percent in March, was the largest since the information was recorded in 1968. The previous record low was 45.1 percent in May 1974, when Japan was recovering from an oil crisis.


Auto sales plunged in April as automakers were forced to stop factory lines of supply of spare parts suspended in the wake of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.


The plants have since resumed production, but the group was cautious about sales from May Analysts say part of the offer that has stifled production can take several months.


"Factory line started moving again, but they are still quite active. We're probably still feeling the effects (of the disaster), "a spokesman for the association.


He said car sales fell because the supply of new vehicles had been beaten in the wake of the disaster of 11 March, consumer confidence wetlands.


largest earthquake recorded in Japan and the tsunami that caused broken supply chains and inhibited the production facilities of electricity, including nuclear power stations in central Atomic ongoing emergency.


Many of the leading producers are located in areas most affected, and suffered damage to their structures and the earthquake of magnitude 9.0 were filled with giant wave below.


Sales of Toyota motor vehicles fell by 68.7 per cent in 35,557 vehicles in April. Nissan Car Sales slumped 37.2 percent this month, 17 413, while Honda's sales jumped 48.5 percent 18,923.


Last week, data showed 15.3 percent dip in industrial production in Japan in March, the steepest since records in 1953, mainly due to the production of vehicles in the game.


Consumer confidence also fell. Japanese household spending dipped 8.5 percent in March from the previous year in the biggest decline since records began in 1964, data showed last week.


Although sales of food and water to people jumped stored immediately after the earthquake and the nuclear plant in Fukushima Daiichi, consumers held off spending on nonessential items.