ID :
52096
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 20:47
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https://oananews.org//node/52096
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Japan automakers post sharp falls in February output+
TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo - Major Japanese automakers continued to slash output sharply in February, with industry leader Toyota Motor Corp. cutting its domestic production by a record-high 64.0 percent from a year earlier in the face of slumping demand, according to data released Tuesday.
Toyota said the plunge was the sharpest since comparable data became available
in 1977 and that the 141,127 cars it produced in Japan in February was also the
lowest figure on record.
Globally, Toyota slashed its output by 53.3 percent in the reporting month to
358,573 units, while Japan's second-largest automaker Honda Motor Co. produced
190,680 cars, down 42.7 percent. Global output at Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No.
3 automaker, fell 51.3 percent to 156,864 units.
Japanese automakers continued to cut their output to reduce inventories in an
effort to cope with weakening sales amid the global economic crisis.
Providing further evidence of a sharp downturn in the industry, the Japan
Automobile Manufacturers Association said the same day that automobile sales in
Japan in fiscal 2009 are expected to drop 8.0 percent from the previous year to
a 32-year low of 4,297,600 units.
It would be the lowest level since around 4.23 million domestic cars were sold
in fiscal 1977. It would also mark a year-on-year decline for the fourth
consecutive year.
''There are signs that the demand we anticipated is weakening further,'' JAMA
Chairman Satoshi Aoki, who doubles as chairman of Honda Motor Co., said at a
press conference in Tokyo.
The industry body also said domestic car sales in the current business year
ending this month are likely to fall 12.2 percent from fiscal 2007 to 4,669,800
units.
With signs of recovery still not in sight, major Japanese automakers are
expected to continue slashing production levels and personnel costs, further
hitting the country's labor and economic conditions.
In addition to the top three Japanese automakers, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
reduced its global output by 65.0 percent to 45,048 units, while Mazda Motor
Corp. cut its production by 54.6 percent to 57,642 units.
==Kyodo
Toyota said the plunge was the sharpest since comparable data became available
in 1977 and that the 141,127 cars it produced in Japan in February was also the
lowest figure on record.
Globally, Toyota slashed its output by 53.3 percent in the reporting month to
358,573 units, while Japan's second-largest automaker Honda Motor Co. produced
190,680 cars, down 42.7 percent. Global output at Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No.
3 automaker, fell 51.3 percent to 156,864 units.
Japanese automakers continued to cut their output to reduce inventories in an
effort to cope with weakening sales amid the global economic crisis.
Providing further evidence of a sharp downturn in the industry, the Japan
Automobile Manufacturers Association said the same day that automobile sales in
Japan in fiscal 2009 are expected to drop 8.0 percent from the previous year to
a 32-year low of 4,297,600 units.
It would be the lowest level since around 4.23 million domestic cars were sold
in fiscal 1977. It would also mark a year-on-year decline for the fourth
consecutive year.
''There are signs that the demand we anticipated is weakening further,'' JAMA
Chairman Satoshi Aoki, who doubles as chairman of Honda Motor Co., said at a
press conference in Tokyo.
The industry body also said domestic car sales in the current business year
ending this month are likely to fall 12.2 percent from fiscal 2007 to 4,669,800
units.
With signs of recovery still not in sight, major Japanese automakers are
expected to continue slashing production levels and personnel costs, further
hitting the country's labor and economic conditions.
In addition to the top three Japanese automakers, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
reduced its global output by 65.0 percent to 45,048 units, while Mazda Motor
Corp. cut its production by 54.6 percent to 57,642 units.
==Kyodo
