Japanese automobile production in December 2012 totaled 702,285 units, decreasing by 145,965 units or 17.2 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. December was the fourth straight month of decrease following year-on-year increases recorded in the previous 11 months in Japan's automobile output, according to the data provided by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).
Domestic sales in December last year in Japan stood at 338,504 vehicles, down 3.1 percent as compared with the same month of the previous year. In the meantime, the country's automobile exports in December amounted to 399,589 units, down by 57,875 units or 12.7 percent year on year, constituting the fifth month in a row of decrease following seven consecutive months of year-on-year increase. The revenue generated by these exports amounted to $13 billion, including $9.4 billion for vehicles and $3.5 billion for parts. This is a decrease of $1.3 million or 9.4 percent as compared with the same month of the previous year.
Meanwhile, vehicle production by Japanese automakers during 2012 totaled 9,942,711 units, according to the JAMA. The figure represents an increase of 18.4 percent compared to 2011. The association noted that production increased in 2012 after the downturn in 2011. Domestic sales in 2012 stood at 5,369,721 vehicles, increasing 27.5 percent compared to 2011, after the previous year's decline.
Japanese automobile exports accounted for a 48.3 percent share of total production in 2012, compared to 53.2 percent in 2011. Automobile exports amounted to 4,801,191 units in 2012, increasing by 336,778 units or 7.5 percent year on year, after the decline seen in the previous year. The total value of Japan's automobile exports in 2012 was $158 billion, including $114.6 billion for vehicles and $43.5 million for parts, up $16 billion or 11.3 percent compared to the previous year.
For the first nine months of 2012, overseas production by Japanese automakers stood at 12,038,868 units, with an increase of 21 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2011.
In the January-September period of last year, Japanese automakers' vehicle production in Asia totaled 6,495,822 units, up 13.5 percent, their production in North America amounted to 3,220,208 units, up 47.9 percent, in the US alone Japanese vehicle output was 2,510,868 units, up 44.9 percent, while in the EU Japanese automakers' vehicle production amounted to 1,047,414 units, up 9.6 percent, all compared to the same period of 2011.