Sales of Japanese Cars Plummet
06 August, 2019
Japanese automakers' sales have plunged 30 percent in Korea as a result of a boycott of Japan here.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Monday, 2,674 Japanese cars were sold here in July, down 32 percent from June, before the boycott started, and 17 percent on-year. Their market share here dropped six percentage points to 14 percent.
Toyota sold only 865 cars under the Toyota brand, down 38 percent from June, and 982 Lexus, down 25 percent. Honda sold 468 cars, down 42 percent. Sales of Nissan and Infiniti models plunged 20 to 25 percent, selling a mere 228 and 131 each.
But the figures do not yet reflect plunging orders that are still to be delivered. "The actual sales figures could even deteriorate after August once sales figures for July are reflected," said a dealer of Japanese cars.
Yet overall, imported cars had a bumper month. Some 19,453 new imported cars were registered in July, slightly up from 19,386 in June due to increased sales of German vehicles.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz and BMW grew more than 10 percent.
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