Car sales in Japan up

Sales of new cars in Japan showed solid growth in April. They climbed by 9.6 per cent when compared to the same month of last year to 314,816 units.

While sales of mini-vehicles declined by 4.8 per cent, the overall increase was driven by a strong rebound in registered vehicles excluding kei-class models, which had fallen below year-earlier levels in March. 

However, supply-chain disruptions stemming from war on Iran are starting to create chokepoints across Japan’s automotive industry, including the network of companies surrounding Toyota.

“We’re hearing from smaller suppliers that suddenly they won’t be able to deliver parts in two weeks’ time, which makes things hard to predict,” says Koichi Ito, president of Toyota Industries.

With little visibility into which components might suddenly become unavailable, parts makers are issuing cautious forecasts for the current fiscal year. They are grappling with rising raw-material costs, shortages of aluminium, resins and other basic supplies and ongoing logistical turmoil.