China, Japan lead Asia's August car-sales surge on incentives

Toyota Motor Corp. led the biggest jump in Japan auto sales in 38 years and China’s purchases surged, signaling Asian consumers are emerging from the global recession in better shape than those in Europe and the U.S.

Japan’s sales of cars, trucks and buses rose 47 percent to 290,789 in August from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. Retail deliveries of passenger cars, multipurpose and sport-utility vehicles in China jumped 59 percent to 977,300, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center said.

Japanese consumers rushed to take advantage of government subsidies expiring this month, while dealer discounts in China lured buyers in the world’s largest auto market. South Korean auto sales rose 21 percent, and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the biggest carmaker in India, reported domestic sales surged 33 percent after economic growth accelerated last quarter.

“In China, underlying demand still seems to be very strong,” said?Ashvin Chotai, London-based managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia Ltd., an industry consultant. In Japan, “the market has been artificially propped up by subsidies. We can expect a post-stimulus hangover.”

Higher auto sales in Asia in August compare favorably with slumping sales in the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S., auto sales last month probably were the slowest in 28 years as model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy s worsening and they may lose their jobs.

U.S., Europe

Industrywide deliveries, to be announced tomorrow, may have reached an annualized rate of 11.6 million vehicles last month, according to the average of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the slowest August since 1982, according to researcher Ward’s AutoInfoBank.

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