Japan Sales of Foreign-Brand Vehicles Fall 8.5 Pct in 2024

Tokyo, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)--Sales of imported foreign-brand vehicles in Japan in 2024 fell 8.5 pct from a year earlier to 227,202 units, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday.

The decrease was apparently because of Houthis attacks on ships that disrupted commercial shipping and rising materials costs that sent vehicle prices higher.

Sales of foreign-brand vehicles priced lower than 4 million yen plunged 28.6 pct, while sales of those priced between 4 million yen and less than 10 million yen dipped 2.2 pct. Sales of those priced at 10 million yen or higher, such as Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini vehicles, climbed 5.8 pct.

Sales of electric vehicles expanded 5.7 pct to 24,198 units, or 10.7 pct of the total, up 1.5 percentage points. "Automakers including BMW and BYD in addition to Tesla offered a wide variety of models to meet consumer demand," an association official said.

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