Japanese automobile production falls 6.7% on year in Nov.

• Source: Xinhua
• [08:13 December 28 2010]
• Comments

Japan's automobile production dropped 6.7 percent in November from a year earlier, marking the second straight month of decline, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) said in a report Monday.

According to the association, vehicle output totaled 802,009 units in the recording month, with passenger car production plummeting 8.2 percent to 689,808 vehicles, marking the second consecutive month of decline.

Production of buses, however, shot up by 11.7 percent to 10,348 units, for the second straight monthly rise and truck output climbed for the 12th successive month to 101,853 vehicles produced in the recording period, a rise of 3.3 percent.

Domestic sales of vehicles in November totaled 323,600 units, a drop of 25.9 percent from the same month of the previous year, while new vehicle sales in Japan tumbled 30.7 percent on year to 203,246 units, marking the third straight year-on-year decline, separate data from Japan Automobile Dealers Association showed Monday.

The expiration of special government subsidies in September caused domestic demand for low-emission vehicles to slump and hence automakers cut back on production in light of waning demand.

Overall, domestic vehicle shipments fell 25.9 percent to 323, 600 units in November, while exports posted a rise of 9.6 percent to 432,585 units, up for the 11th consecutive month in November, the monthly report indicated.

Additionally, production of motorcycles remained comparatively robust in November, with 58,550 units being produced -- 9,996 more units, or a 20.5 percent increase from the same time a year earlier.

Domestic sales of motorcycles, meanwhile, rocketed 43.3 percent in November on year, according to the data.