Japan's vehicle exports fall 64.7% in April, sharpest drop since 1973+
May 29 06:44 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, May 29 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japan's vehicle exports in April dived 64.7 percent from a year earlier to 206,456 units, marking the steepest drop on record since 1973 amid slumping auto sales due to the global economic slowdown, an industry body said Friday.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a separate report that domestic vehicle output plunged 47.1 percent in the month to 485,405 units, the lowest for the month since 1971.
Both exports and domestic production slipped below their year-before levels for the seventh straight month.
"What we have been seeing is a continued slump in the automobile market both at home and abroad," an association official said.
Exports to all regions covered by the statistics fell, with those to the United States dropping 69.7 percent to 58,547 units and those to the European Union falling 43.5 percent to 39,085 units.
Exports to Central and South America as well as the Middle and Near East both tumbled more than 70 percent.
In Japan, passenger car production fell 47.2 percent to 415,804 units. Output of trucks fell 46.1 percent to 64,616 units while that of buses was down 52.1 percent to 4,985 units. |
