P.M. BRIEFING : Car Imports in Japan Up 10.2%

Fed by a strong appetite for luxury cars, sales of imported vehicles in Japan surged 10.2% in August, compared to the same period in 1989, to 15,435, a record for the month, the Japan Automobile Importers Assn. said today.

But figures supplied by the association showed that August sales were down from 20,304 in July, when they rose 17.1% from last year.

West German car makers accounted for 8,736, or more than half of the imports in the month, down 2.5% from a year earlier.

Sales by U.S. car makers surged a healthy 35.7% in the month, albeit from a low year-earlier figure. General Motors sold 685 vehicles, Ford, 286, and Chrysler, 111.