AFTER taking the brunt of China's recent boycott of Japanese goods over a territorial dispute, Japanese carmakers Nissan and Honda saw China sales rebound last month even though they still dropped on an annual basis.
Nissan Motor Co, which has the biggest exposure to the Chinese market among all Japanese carmakers, yesterday reported a 29.8 percent year-on-year decrease in November sales in China, which was an improvement from a 41 percent plunge in October.
Honda Motor Co, which delivered 41,205 cars in China last month, posted a 29.2 percent drop in sales after posting a 54 percent decline in October.
Despite the rebound, both automakers are still seeing a lingering impact from the Japan's illegal purchase of the Diaoyu Islands, which triggered anti-Japanese sentiment across China.
The risk of another boycott still exists as Japan still refuses to correct itself over the Diaoyu Islands issue.
In October, the market share of Japanese carmakers in China's passenger car segment dropped 4.6 percentage points from September to 7.6 percent, the first time it dipped below 10 percent.
Rao Da, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, said Japanese carmakers might be able to regain this lost ground if there are no further provocative moves from the Japanese government over the islands.
Also, Mazda and Toyota reported improved sales in China on Monday.
Challenges remain for smoking ban
Feedback
RSS
