Sales of Japanese cars, which had been stagnant about two years ago due to the No Japan movement, are showing signs of recovery. Profitability is rapidly increasing as imports of major Japanese automobile brands such as Toyota and Honda exceed 150 billion won, and they seem to be being selected by consumers mainly for expensive vehicles.
According to data released by the Korea Automobile Industry Association on the 29th, the amount of domestic imports of Japanese automobiles totaled $125.57 million (about 153 billion won) in January and February. This is a 51.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year. During the period, only the UK (126.7%), Germany (41.1%) and Italy (18.8%) saw their sales decline in the U.S. (-5.0%) and Sweden (29.4%).
The Japanese automobile brand was severely damaged by the No Japan movement triggered by the Japanese government’s ban on semiconductor materials in 2020. Japanese car imports reached $1.2 billion (about 1.45 trillion won) a year in 2018 and 2019, before the boycott, but fell to $850 million (about 1.45 trillion won) after the boycott. However, last year, about $900 million (1.2 trillion won) was imported, up 8.4% from 2020, and this increase continued this year.
In particular, some brands such as Nissan withdrew from the Korean market as of 2020, so major imports were concentrated on Toyota, Honda, and Lexus. An official from the imported car industry said, “We are currently showing a strong performance in terms of profits as sales mainly for high-priced vehicles have increased.
In fact, Lexus’ sales at the beginning of this year totaled 987 units, down 11.9% from the same institution last year, but sales of its flagship ES300h and LS500 (including hybrid) increased 6.8% (780 units) and 372.5%, respectively. In addition, 122 large SUV RX450hs were sold, similar to 124 last year, but 42 small SUV UX250hs were sold, down 73.4% from last year.
In the case of Toyota, sales of the mid-sized SUV RAV4 were suspended, recording 583 units (28.4%) in January and February. However, the 2022 Lave 4 Hybrid started pre-contracting this month, and 162 mini-van Siena Hybrid, which was released last year, were sold during the same period, so the outlook is not bad.
Honda sold 551 units in January and February this year. Among them, Honda Accord increased sales by 46.8% compared to the same period last year to 254 units, and Honda Odyssey increased by 347.8% to 103 units to increase sales by 33.7%.
Regarding the increase in sales, a Honda official said, “The sales volume of Odyssey was small in January and February last year because it focused on exhausting the remaining inventory of the existing volume,” adding, “Since the 2021 launch in March last year, sales have steadily risen 347% year-on-year.”
An official from Honda also said, “While other finished car brands currently take months to release new products, Honda seems to be able to release them within one to two months due to pre-securing semiconductor supplies through demand forecasts.”
However, it remains to be seen whether Japanese car brands will be able to continue their strong sales. Due to global semiconductor supply and demand shortages, production disruptions and cost increases for automakers remain, especially in Toyota, which has been disrupted due to the recent 7.3 magnitude earthquake off Fukushima Prefecture.