Toyota Motor Corp.'s China sales surged in November, suggesting Japanese brands are escaping the consumer backlash they faced last year over the Senkaku Islands dispute.
Deliveries to China rose 41 percent to 89,800 vehicles in November, raising the 11-month total to 809,000 units, according to a statement from the company Monday. Barring an 18 percent plunge this month, the maker of the Camry will post record sales in the world's biggest auto market this year.
Sales rose for a third month to the highest level in 2013, illustrating the contrast in the economic fallout between last year's diplomatic row and this year between the two countries. China created an air defense area covering the islets last month, reviving memories of last year and underscoring how Japanese companies remain vulnerable to periodic bouts of tensions between the two Asian neighbors.
"The pressure on Japanese automakers will always be there," said Harry Chen, a Shenzhen-based analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Co. "They need to find the best way to cope with it given that China is a must-have market for them."
China has sent fighter planes into the self-declared zone after announcing its creation on Nov. 23 and said its military will take "defensive emergency measures" if aircraft enter the area without reporting flight plans or otherwise identifying themselves.
The State Department on Nov. 29 urged U.S. airlines to notify Chinese authorities before flying through the defense zone, even as the U.S. military conducts daily flights in the area without such notification. Japan has told its airlines to stop providing flight plans to China.
Nissan, which sells more cars in China than any other Japanese automaker, has fully recovered from the anti-Japan consumer backlash, Ren Yong, vice president of Dongfeng Motor Co., said on Nov. 21 at the Guangzhou auto show.