Market for Japanese Cars in China Dries Up

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The territorial dispute between Japan and China over a set of islands continues to hurt Japanese automakers. Their sales in China dwindled in September as trade between the two countries has faltered.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) saw its sales in China cut nearly in half to a mere 44,100 units sold last month. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) reported that its sales in September totaled 33,931, which was 40.5% lower than a year ago, as well as down from 57,003 units in August.

Nissan said that its sales in China declined 35.3% year over year to a little more than 76,000 cars sold. Sales of Mazda vehicles dropped by 35% last month to 13,258 units.

And Mitsubishi, a smaller player in the People’s Republic, said that it sold only 2,344 models there in September, or about 41% less than in the previous year.

As Chinese drivers turn away from Japanese cars, that may be good news for other automakers, such as General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Volkswagen, as they increasingly rely on the world’s largest auto market to offset weakness in Europe and other parts of the world.

The rise of anti-Japan sentiment in China comes as the two nations tussle over a set of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. The islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China, are rich in natural resources such as oil and sit in popular fishing waters.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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