Sales of used cars in Japan rose 1.7 percent in fiscal 2015 from the previous year to 3,733,321 units, marking the first growth in three years, an industry body's data showed Tuesday.
The number of used vehicles, excluding minicars with engines no larger than 660 cubic centimeters, however, was the second lowest since comparable data became available in 1978, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
"The prolonged slump in new vehicle sales after the consumption tax hike has affected the used vehicle market," an official of the association said, referring to a tax hike imposed in April 2014.
Sales of used passenger cars increased 2.1 percent to 3,271,351. Sales of secondhand buses rose 5.3 percent to 13,375 units, while those of trucks dropped 0.6 percent to 374,728 units.
In March alone, sales of used cars edged up 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 488,515 units, it said.