Right Lane Cruiser
05-19-2009, 08:02 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Japanese_Flag_30x22.jpg Thanks in part to the incentives, Honda’s newly introduced Insight hybrid on Monday night became the top-selling full-size car in Japan. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb601d72-4440-11de-82d6-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_European_Honda_Insight-II_Side.jpgJonathan Soble - The Financial Times (http://www.ft.com) - May 19, 2009
How sustainable is this? --Ed.
Japanese carmakers are reporting a sharp increase in sales in their home market this month after the government introduced tax breaks and other incentives designed to spur demand for lower-emission models.
Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer at Nissan, on Tuesday said orders at the company’s dealerships had risen 30 per cent so far in May compared with a year earlier. He credited the government’s support measures – which can cut the cost of the most fuel-efficient cars by 10 per cent or more – for the improvement.
Honda, meanwhile, said orders had increased about 20 per cent through mid-May compared with a year earlier. Toyota, the largest car producer, which on Monday launched the latest version of its fuel-sipping Prius petrol-electric hybrid, has also registered a similar increase in orders.
If the preliminary results hold and overall vehicle sales rise for the full month, it would be the first increase for the Japanese market in 10 months. Most Japanese carmakers fell into the red in the financial year which ended in March after global demand collapsed amid the recession.
Industry executives had initially been worried that the government’s measures – which came into effect in April and include payments to drivers for scrapping older vehicles – were having little effect on cash-strapped consumers. Overall car sales in Japan were down 28 per cent in April compared with... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb601d72-4440-11de-82d6-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_European_Honda_Insight-II_Side.jpgJonathan Soble - The Financial Times (http://www.ft.com) - May 19, 2009
How sustainable is this? --Ed.
Japanese carmakers are reporting a sharp increase in sales in their home market this month after the government introduced tax breaks and other incentives designed to spur demand for lower-emission models.
Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer at Nissan, on Tuesday said orders at the company’s dealerships had risen 30 per cent so far in May compared with a year earlier. He credited the government’s support measures – which can cut the cost of the most fuel-efficient cars by 10 per cent or more – for the improvement.
Honda, meanwhile, said orders had increased about 20 per cent through mid-May compared with a year earlier. Toyota, the largest car producer, which on Monday launched the latest version of its fuel-sipping Prius petrol-electric hybrid, has also registered a similar increase in orders.
If the preliminary results hold and overall vehicle sales rise for the full month, it would be the first increase for the Japanese market in 10 months. Most Japanese carmakers fell into the red in the financial year which ended in March after global demand collapsed amid the recession.
Industry executives had initially been worried that the government’s measures – which came into effect in April and include payments to drivers for scrapping older vehicles – were having little effect on cash-strapped consumers. Overall car sales in Japan were down 28 per cent in April compared with... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb601d72-4440-11de-82d6-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html