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LEAD: Japan's imported car sales fall 17.3% to 15-yr low in 2008+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Jan. 8_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING 2ND GRAF, ADDING 5TH GRAF)
Sales of imported vehicles in Japan, including Japanese cars manufactured abroad, dropped 17.3 percent in 2008 from the previous year to a 15-year low of 219,231 units due to the global financial crisis, an industry body said Thursday.
The figure was the lowest since 1993, when imported vehicle sales stood at 201,481 units, and is about half its level in 1996, when it peaked at 427,525, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.
Sales of imported foreign-brand vehicles dropped 16.3 percent to 193,902 units while those of imported vehicles manufactured by Japanese automakers overseas fell 24.4 percent to 25,329 units, the association said.
The financial crisis originating in the United States in the latter half of 2008 added fuel to consumer sentiment that had already waned due to skyrocketing gasoline prices, an association official said.
Industry analysts said that amid slumping sales of new vehicles in the face of worsening economic and employment conditions, relatively high-priced imported cars do not appeal to consumers as they are cutting back on spending. Sales of imported vehicles show no signs of picking up soon, the official added.
In 2008, Volkswagen was the top-selling imported vehicle brand, claiming a 20.76 percent share of Japan's imported vehicle market with 45,522 units, down 12.4 percent from the previous year.
Mercedes-Benz ranked second with a 16.88 percent share, selling 37,002 units, down 21.0 percent, followed by BMW, whose market share came to 16.40 percent with 35,945 units, down 23.7 percent.
For the month of December alone, sales of vehicles imported into Japan, including those built by Japanese carmakers, plunged 30.2 percent from a year earlier to 18,913 units for the eighth straight monthly drop.
Sales of foreign-brand vehicles fell 30.5 percent to 17,446 units and those of Japanese-brand cars dropped 27.4 percent to 1,467 units.
Copyright ? 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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