Japan’s new auto sales skid 23% year-on-year in June: industry data

By Metro US Posted on July 1, 2020

Employees wearing protective face masks and face guards work on the automobile assembly line during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the factory of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. in Kawasaki

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese new auto sales dropped by nearly a quarter in June from a year earlier as consumers continued to hit the brakes on car purchases in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, industry association data showed on Wednesday.

Total vehicle sales fell 23% in June from the same month a year earlier to 347,371 units, according to data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and an association for dealers of Japan’s “kei” mini cars.

(Reporting by Maki Shiraki; Editing by Tom Hogue)