Japanese auto firms still in slow lane

Despite the strong growth in sales of Japanese sedans in China during the past few months, their share of the domestic market saw a further decline to 18.13 percent in 2013, down from 18.28 percent in 2012, according to statistics released Thursday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

In 2013, Japanese automakers sold a total of 2.18 million sedans in the -Chinese market, slightly higher than the sales of 1.96 million units in 2012, according to data from the CAAM.

German carmakers sold a total of 2.92 million units in China, taking a 24.29 percent share of the market, ranking No.1 among all foreign automakers in China. Japanese automakers ranked second in terms of sedan sales, followed by firms from the US, South Korea and France.

China's domestic auto brands sold a total of 3.3 million sedans in China in 2013, accounting for 27.53 percent of the market, 0.85 percentage points lower than in 2012, according to the CAAM data.

Japanese automakers experienced a drastic decline in sales after September 2012, when the Japanese government's decision to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands triggered strong anti-Japan sentiment among Chinese consumers.

There were a number of cases of people smashing Japanese cars, which also dented sales.

But in the second half of 2013, as the impact of the political dispute gradually faded away, Japanese cars started to see a strong rebound.

Honda saw its vehicle sales in China surge by 60 percent year-on-year to 101,465 units in December, and Mazda saw its sales rise by 36.9 percent to 23,654 units during the same period.

"Japanese auto brands' recent marketing efforts have reversed the downward trend," Yao Jie, a deputy secretary-general at the CAAM, said at a press conference in Beijing Thursday.

However, experts noted that -Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine on December 26, which further dampened bilateral relations between the two countries, may cast a shadow on Japanese cars' rebound in the Chinese market.

Wu Shuocheng, editor-in-chief at auto industry portal auto.gasgoo.com, noted that Japanese automakers have pushed vigorous marketing campaigns recently, and frequent launches of new products have also helped to reverse the downward trend.

"However, although Japanese cars remain appealing to some Chinese consumers, their sales in China may still get affected by bilateral relations between the two countries," Wu told the Global Times Thursday.

China ranked as the largest auto market in the world for the fifth consecutive year in 2013.

According to the CAAM data, auto sales and production in China both topped 20 million units in 2013, the first time this has happened.

In December alone, auto sales and production in China both topped 2.13 million, a new monthly record for -China, the CAAM said.

Sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) saw the fastest growth in the Chinese market. In 2013, a total of 2.98 million SUVs were sold in China, a rise of 49.41 percent year-on-year.

The CAAM predicted on Thursday that China's auto sales will grow by 8 to 10 percent in 2014, as demand is still strong, despite the government's purchasing restrictions in some cities.