The prolonged impact of the April consumption tax hike continued to dampen sales of imported vehicles in July, which dropped 25.6 percent to 31,354 units to mark a fourth consecutive monthly fall, an industry association said August 6.
Sales of imported vehicles produced by foreign automakers dropped 17.9 percent to 27,573 units, while sales of imported vehicles produced by Japanese automakers at overseas plants and shipped to Japan plunged 55.6 percent to 3,781 units, according to the Japan Automobile Importers' Association. Sales of "Japanese-brand" imports fell as automakers brought production of more popular cars from overseas plants to Japan.
JAIA officials said that the overall sluggishness in sales is partly due to a lack of new foreign models. "Since the new models will not come to the market until just before the Tokyo Motor Show scheduled in October, such a trend is likely to continue for a while," an official said.