According to foreign media reports, industry data released on November 1st showed that car sales in Japan plunged 31.3% in October compared with the same period last year to 279341 units, setting the country's worst October sales record. and this is the fourth consecutive month of decline in Japanese car sales. This shows that the production cuts caused by the pandemic continue to hurt the country's already weak consumption levels.
Among local brands, Toyota's sales plunged 42.2 per cent to 79458. Mazda fell 25.8 per cent to 8015 vehicles. Nissan fell 13.9 per cent to 17061 vehicles. Honda's sales plunged 49.9% to 13474 vehicles. Dafa's sales fell 45.2% to 30062 vehicles. Suzuki fell 23.5% to 34829 vehicles.
The decline in sales highlights the growing damage to the Japanese economy caused by supply disruptions. Global shortages of parts and chips have had a severe impact on carmakers, forcing them to cut production around the world and causing delays in car delivery.
Analysts say that if supply constraints persist for a long time, it could prevent Japan from completing a stable economic rebound. Taro Saito, an economist at the NLI Research Institute, said: "We expect the Japanese economy to grow at an annualised rate of about 5 per cent from October to December, mainly driven by strong consumption. But we also face many risks, including the possibility that supply constraints may last longer than expected. " He expects the Japanese economy to contract by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter. The Japanese government will release initial (GDP) data for the period from July to September on November 15th.
