Friday, December 19, 2014

Cars not selling well in Japan

Car Lobby Admits "Sense Of Panic" | Zero Hedge: "
The head of Japan's auto lobby on Thursday said a "sense of crisis" hung over the industry, with unexpectedly weak domestic sales revealing the failure of government stimulus policies and currency turmoil hitting key export markets.
 
Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) Chairman Fumihiko Ike said an April sales tax hike was only partly to blame for the domestic sales weakness, citing the government's failure to boost consumption.
 
"We are seeing continued weakness in domestic new car sales that go beyond a backlash to the April sales tax hike," he said, adding that new car sales were down by double digits after the tax hike.
 
Both Toyota and Honda cut their domestic vehicle sales targets when they announced their second-quarter results in November and October respectively."