Japan Surpasses Germany as Top Used-Car Seller

Japan’s increasing sales of used cars to the Soviet Union, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and the Middle East have pushed it past Germany as the world’s top exporter of used cars, a report said today.

The Japan Auto Appraisal Institute said Japan exported 125,825 used cars in 1989, surpassing the about 100,000 used cars exported from Germany, according to the Mainichi Daily News.

A boom in domestic new car sales, which have topped 1.3 million in the last five years, has left Japan’s used-car market oversupplied. Used-car dealers are turning to the export market.

Last year, Japan doubled the number of used cars exported compared to the previous year, the institute said.

The trend has continued this year. In the first eight months of 1990, Japan exported 115,133 cars, or 44.8% more than the same period a year earlier, the institute said.

Japan expects to export 200,000 used cars in 1990.

The Soviet Union is proving to be fertile ground for Japanese used-car sales. The Soviets bought 3,000 used cars in the first eight months of this year, up from 414 used cars in all of 1989.

New Zealand, a top customer, bought 58,000 used Japanese cars in 1989.