Japan market slowdown
Japan’s domestic vehicle market failed to fire in November. This followed the trend seen during the second half of 2014. The numbers ended in a similar position to the previous month with the overall market growing slightly from 396,508 up to 416,139. But in the over-1,000cc small, medium and large passenger vehicle sectors the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) monitors, the total dropped from 206,683 units in October to 203,910 in November. Light to heavy truck sales lifted slightly to 34,509 units – compared to 32,884 – while bus deliveries shrank from 944 to 788. While there were few significant shifts in volume or sales chart positions, November saw two models turn their respective brackets upside down. The all-new Mazda Demio, on the back of a full month of deliveries, notched up 8,890 sales. It leapfrogged into fourth on the ladder, pushing aside traditional compact hatchback market leaders the Toyota Vitz and Nissan Note to be the best-selling conventional drivetrain hatchback in Japan. “Interestingly, buyers appear to be freshly entering the market rather than choosing the Demio over competitors,” reports the IMVIA. “No other conventional hatchbacks appear to suffering sales losses to indicate buyer preferences switching.” Released for sale on the last day of October, the Toyota Esquire saw an impressive start in November with 5,316 units retailed to Japanese consumers, which saw it shoot straight into 11th position. It’s a luxury derivative of the top-selling Toyota Noah and Voxy with Vellfire-like styling cues and a premium price-tag. It appears that rather than convert other minivan and wagon buyers to Toyota, the Esquire has mainly taken existing Noah and Voxy clients. With just 11,473 units of those two models sold in November, down 5,812 from October, this more or less matches within a few hundred units the Esquire gained.
