New car sales in Japan increased 24.1 percent in September from a year earlier, the first year-on-year rise in 15 months, industry body data showed Monday, as production picked up after a parts shortage caused by Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdown eased. The level of sales, however, remained at about 70 percent of that in 2019, suggesting that it could take some more time to return to the pre-pandemic level, with Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. planning output cuts in October. New car sales for the month, excluding minivehicles, rose 17.8 percent to 242,042 units, the first year-on-year incre...
