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The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) announced on February 1 its forecast for vehicle demand in Japan in the calendar year 2012, stating that total demand for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in 2012 expected to reach 5.02 million units, a rise of 19.1 percent over the previous year.
 
The association said that market supply normalized at the beginning of autumn after a major decline in Japan's motor vehicle demand in the first half of 2011, attributable to disruptions in the vehicle supply chain as a result of the March 11 earthquake and related factors. At the beginning of 2012, the sustained economic uncertainty as a result of the European credit crisis, the impact of the appreciation of the yen and other factors are affecting the outlook for the current year.  On the other hand, demand in Japan should be boosted by recovery from the March 11 disaster, reductions in the national automobile tonnage tax, and the application of tax incentives and subsidies for the purchase of ‘eco-friendly' fuel-efficient vehicles.