« Tata to pay £1.05 billion for Jaguar and Land Rover | Home Page | Volkswagen's first seven-speed DSG for Golf and Golf Plus »
Another sluggish for the Japanese market in 2008
By Yoann Besnard on 21 December 2007 | 
(0) Comments | Permalink
2008 will be another gloomy year for the Japanese automative market as the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has forecasted a 1.2% decrease. The market will likely record its 26-year low with 5,383,700 vehicles.
Surprisingly, the Kei car market will suffer the most with a 2% decrease to 1,892,000 vehicles while bigger vehicles included trucks and buses will slow down by 0.8% to 3,427,000 vehicles.
The decrease is, of course, linked to the recent higher oil prices but also to the crisis that has lasted for the last sixteen years. Also young Japanese people are less interested in cars than their parents and don't see a car as a sign of wealth, especially in larger cities.
Japanese car makers plan to fight the sluggish environment by releasing more new models, but there is a few chance it will reverse the current order.
