New car sales climb 11.6% in Japan

New car sales in Japan jumped 11.6 per cent to 2,464,586 units in January-June this year, when compared to the same time in 2020 when the coronavirus crisis hit the industry.

However, the figures from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association reveal first-half sales remain 10 per cent below the level of two years ago.

The market is struggling to make a full recovery because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic and a drop in production caused by a global semiconductor shortage.

Sales of compact passenger cars fell 9.6 per cent to 519,581 units during the first six months of this year, while in contrast registrations of larger cars increased 27 per cent to 791,691 vehicles.

Overall new vehicles sales climbed 5.3 per cent to 365,631 units in June alone, the ninth successive month of growth.