Japan sales of new imported vehicles rise 15.7% on year in March

Sales of new imported vehicles in Japan climbed 15.7 percent in March from a year earlier, data released Wednesday by the Japan Automobile Importers Association showed.

According to the association, sales of new imported vehicles in March, including Japanese brands manufactured overseas, totaled 29, 504 units and marked the 17th consecutive month of year-on-year increase.

But the affect of the March 11 quake and tsunami saw the pace of sales slow from February's 41.2 percent on year increase, as consumer demand waned in the wake of the catastrophe.

Robust sales of Nissan Motor Co.'s March minicar, however, which has stopped being produced domestically and is now manufactured in Thailand, helped boost overall sales of Japanese- brand imports, but sales of non-Japanese brands dropped 8.8 percent, due in part to the March 11 quake and tsunami causing supply delays, the association said.

Nissan continued to be the top-seller in March, booking sales of 6,439 units and Volkswagen stayed in second-place selling 5,222 units. Meanwhile Mercedes-Benz took the third-spot on sales of 3, 731 units in the recording period, the industry body said.

The association said that future sales would be dictated by consumer demand and hinted that a slump may be likely in the coming months in the wake of the March 11 disaster.