Toyota, Honda Oct. sales rise as tensions ease
Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. reported sharply higher China sales in October, as Japanese automakers continued to recover from anti-Japan street demonstrations in 2012.
Toyota and its two local joint-venture partners sold 82,400 automobiles in China last month, up nearly 81 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said.
That follows a 64 percent year-on-year jump in September and a 4 percent fall in August.
Meanwhile, Honda and its two local joint ventures sold 75,150 automobiles in China in October, up 212 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said on Monday.
That follows a 118 percent year-on-year jump in September and a 3 percent fall in August.
The sharp rise in sales reported by Toyota and Honda was partly due to low sales a year earlier, when Japan nationalized disputed islands in the East China Sea.
That sparked anti-Japan sentiment that dealt a big blow to sales of Japanese brands in China in the following months. Now, the Japanese automakers appear to be reviving.
In the first 10 months of this year, Toyota sold 719,200 vehicles, up 5 percent from a year earlier. In August, Toyota officials said they expect to sell 900,000 vehicles in China this year, up 7 percent.
Through October, Honda sold 572,405 vehicles, up 16 percent.
Honda makes vehicles in China in partnership with Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. expects to win back the 7.7 percent market share that it had in China before last year's Japan-China diplomatic dispute, CEO Carlos Ghosn said Friday.
The automaker expects to do so by the end of its fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2014. Nissan also raised its China sales forecast for this year to 1.27 million vehicles, up slightly from its previous outlook of 1.25 million vehicles.
Nissan, the top-selling Japanese automaker in China, has not yet released October sales figures.
That follows a 64 percent year-on-year jump in September and a 4 percent fall in August.
Meanwhile, Honda and its two local joint ventures sold 75,150 automobiles in China in October, up 212 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said on Monday.
That follows a 118 percent year-on-year jump in September and a 3 percent fall in August.
The sharp rise in sales reported by Toyota and Honda was partly due to low sales a year earlier, when Japan nationalized disputed islands in the East China Sea.
That sparked anti-Japan sentiment that dealt a big blow to sales of Japanese brands in China in the following months. Now, the Japanese automakers appear to be reviving.
In the first 10 months of this year, Toyota sold 719,200 vehicles, up 5 percent from a year earlier. In August, Toyota officials said they expect to sell 900,000 vehicles in China this year, up 7 percent.
Through October, Honda sold 572,405 vehicles, up 16 percent.
Honda makes vehicles in China in partnership with Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. expects to win back the 7.7 percent market share that it had in China before last year's Japan-China diplomatic dispute, CEO Carlos Ghosn said Friday.
The automaker expects to do so by the end of its fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2014. Nissan also raised its China sales forecast for this year to 1.27 million vehicles, up slightly from its previous outlook of 1.25 million vehicles.
Nissan, the top-selling Japanese automaker in China, has not yet released October sales figures.
