Japan sees fifth monthly decline in vehicle sales
Japan's domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses fell for the fifth consecutive month in November due to the rising fuel prices, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association (JADA) said. JADA indicated that November sales of new vehicles fell 8.2 percent year on year to 305'569 units. This was the lowest sales volume for the month of November since 1974 when it stood at 304'001 units. Passenger car sales fell 9.7 percent to 258'463 units last month. On the other hand, bus sales jumped 23.8 percent to 1'161 units and truck sales rose 0.9 percent to 45'945 units. Separately, the Japanese Mini-Vehicle Association disclosed that mini-vehicle sales reached 157'737 units, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent. Furthermore, Nissan Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan's two largest automakers, posted the fifth straight monthly decline in the country's vehicle sales last month as lack of new models kept customers from show rooms.