Sales of All Vehicle Types Except Minicars Show First Decline in 4 Years

Passenger car and commercial vehicle demand in Japan in 2006 totalled 5.74 million units, a decline of 1.9% from the previous year. Total
passenger car sales dropped 2.2% to 4.64 million units, marking a second consecutive year-on-year decrease. While the standard and small car segments decreased 3.6% and 8.7%, to 1.23 and 1.91 million units respectively, sales of minicars rose 8.7% to 1.51 million units. Truck sales slipped 0.5% from the previous year to 1.08 million units, and bus sales dipped 0.9% to 18,000 units.