Japan Car Sales May Fall to 34-Year Low in 2008, Nikkei Reports

By Stuart Biggs

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of new cars in Japan may fall to their lowest in 34 years in 2008 as consumers hit by stock market declines cut back on spending, Nikkei English News reported today, without saying how it got the information.

November sales may reach 200,000 units, down by a third from a year earlier, after declines of 5 percent and 13 percent in September and October, Nikkei said. Sales are expected to total about 3.25 million units this year, the lowest since 1974, the report said.

October output by the country’s 12 automakers fell 6.8 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop for the month since 1999, to 1.01 million vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net.