Japanese marques showing signs of comeback

New products drive up sales in wake of Diaoyu fallout

The introduction of new products gave a jolt to sales of Japanese cars in April, reversing a trend of dismal figures in the first half, analysts said.

Sales have been hit hard by a backlash against Japanese products stemming from territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands that erupted last September.

With more than 70,000 units sold last month, Toyota has rebounded in Chinese market. [Wu Changqing / for China Daily]

In the first half of 2012, the picture was much brighter for Japanese brands, which held a 20 percent market share last July.

By February, their market share had dropped to 12.5 percent. But brands gained ground in March and saw their share rise to 15 percent.

According to Toyota, it sold 76,000 units in April, a decline of 6.5 percent from a year earlier but still better than the 11.7 percent year-on-year decrease seen in March.

Nissan sold 103,000 units, an increase of 2.7 percent year-on-year.

In March, sales declined 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

Mazda sold 12,000 units in the month, a decrease of 15.2 percent compared with last April, but still an improvement over the 25 percent year-on-year decrease in March.

Honda sold 60,596 units, a slight decline of 2.4 percent year-on-year. Its sales dropped by 6.6 percent in March.

Lin Huaibin, an auto analyst with the consultancy IHS Automotive, said the recovery was expected because several Japanese brands introduced new products during or around the time of Auto Shanghai last month.

For example, the new edition of the Teana, a popular mid-sized sedan, was added to Nissan's Chinese lineup this March and is now being sold together with its previous generations.

Du Fan, spokesman of Nissan's Chinese operations, told China Daily that he is satisfied with the company's April performance and noted that with introduction of the new Teana and the new Livina, a small hatchback, Nissan's sales are expected to gain momentum in the coming months.

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