New vehicle sales in Japan last year rose 10.6 percent from 2009, the first annual gain in seven years, thanks to Japanese government subsidies for green cars, an industry group said yesterday.
However, sales last month tumbled almost a third as the subsidies, introduced by the government to boost the industry in the aftermath of the global downturn, came to an end.
The number of new cars, trucks and buses excluding mini vehicles sold in the country last year came to 3,229,716 units, up from 2,921,085 the previous year, according to the Japanese Automobile Dealers Association.
It said the gain was mainly due to the popular subsidy to encourage motorists to buy eco-friendly cars, which lifted demand and tempered the crippling effects of the financial crisis.
However, new vehicle sales dropped 28.3 percent last month from a year earlier to 179,666, the fourth straight month with a year-on-year drop as subsidies ended in early September, the association said.
The end of the scheme dealt a blow to automakers, which are already struggling to cope with the yen’s strength against other major currencies, forcing them to scale back production.
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