Domestic sales of all automobiles except minivehicles dipped 0.9 percent in 2001 from the year before to 4.06 million units, an industry body said Monday.
The dip followed a 2.7 percent spurt to 4.095 million in 2000 that marked the industry's first upturn after four years in decline, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. JADA attributed the drop to the local and global slowdowns.
Sales of passenger cars for the 12-month period through Dec. 31 came to 3.02 million in the reporting year, up 1.3 percent. Those with engines larger than 2,000cc accounted for 741,489 units, down 3.7 percent, while smaller cars accounted for 2.27 million units, up 3 percent.