Foreign Auto Imports Climb 29.3% in Japan

Japan witnessed a 29.3% increase in the sale of imported automobiles during the first eight months of 1988, a boom that the leading Japanese import group predicted will continue.

The number of imported cars sold in Japan between January and August rose to 79,659 units, up from the 61,585 units during the first eight months of 1987, the Japanese Automobile Importers’ Assn. reported during a press conference here Friday.

In 1987, foreign car makers sold a record 97,750 units in Japan, which has the world’s second-largest car market. “We figure year-end sales could reach about 100,000 units soon,” said Masaji Gumizawa, executive vice president of the group.

Nonetheless, the number of cars imported into Japan remains minuscule, compared to the number flooding the United States.

Germans Dominant

As of August, the association said, 7,212 cars exported from the United States had been sold in Japan this year. General Motors, which sold 3,268 vehicles, was the leader. Honda North America Inc., which sold 2,251 units, was second.

Despite gains by Honda’s U.S. unit, the German imports remained dominant in the Japanese market, according to the association’s figures. There were 55,758 German-made automobiles sold in Japan in the first eight months of 1988. During August alone, 6,784 German cars had been sold in Japan, a 1,176 unit increase from last August’s figures.

Volkswagen saw the sale of 1,942 of its vehicles during that month. Year-to-date figures for August showed that Volkswagen sold 16,256 units.

However, BMW and Mercedes-Benz were close behind, with August year-to-date totals of 16,203 and 14,361, respectively.

Some Restrictions Gone

The increase in imports is a promising sign for foreign exporters, said association members, who attributed much of the rise to the liberalization of Japan’s tax and trade laws, the country’s changing standards for imports and lowered insurance rates for foreign cars.

“We are committed to harmonizing our standards,” said JAIA’s Gumizawa through a translator. “Some of the restrictions that kept imports from selling in Japan have been eliminated.”

But despite the sales increase, the group said, U.S.-made cars are still hounded by a perception of inferiority in Japan.

“During the oil crisis, the quality of the American vehicles dropped,” Gumizawa said. “What we saw is that the American car buyers fled the American market. Since that time, the quality of the vehicles has improved very much. Unfortunately, this has not been communicated to the Japanese car-buying public very well.

“If this were properly communicated, the number of American vehicles bought in Japan would increase very quickly.”