Japan’s Car Exports Plunge to 17-Year Low

Japan’s vehicle exports in 1994 plunged to the lowest level in 17 years, hit by appreciation of the yen and growing production at the overseas plants of Japanese auto makers, officials said Monday.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Assn. said vehicle exports fell 11.1% from a year earlier to 4.46 million in calendar 1994, the ninth-straight year of decline.

Industry sources said exports were likely to remain sluggish this year as Japanese auto makers, facing strong competition in markets such as Europe and the United States, shift more of their output to lower-cost factories there.

“Japan’s vehicle exports will continue to fall because exports to the U.S. and Europe will remain slow, even if exports to other areas like Asia increase,” said Seiichiro Iwasawa, senior analyst at Nomura Research Institute.

He predicted exports would fall about 3% to 4.32 million in 1995.

JAMA said vehicle exports to the United States rose 1.6% to 1.64 million in 1994, their first gain in eight years. But passenger car exports to the United States fell 0.9% to 1.44 million, their eighth straight year of decline.

A JAMA official said Japanese auto makers had largely given up trying to boost exports, realizing that cars from Japan could no longer compete on pricing with vehicles produced in local markets, partly because of the strong yen.

Japan’s vehicle exports to the European Union fell 16.5% from a year earlier to 815,911 last year, their third-straight decline. They were well below a quota of 993,000 vehicles negotiated between Japan and the European Commission.