Territorial Dispute Causes Plunge of Japanese Sales in China

The territorial dispute between China and Japan over a small group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea has boiled over into the automotive industry and has caused Japanese auto sales to plummet in China in the last few months. 

ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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sales dropped 49%; NissanNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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sales fell 35%; MazdaMazdaJapan, 1920 > present80 models
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lost 35% of sales; MitsubishiMitsubishiJapan, 1917 > present72 models
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lost 63% of sales; SuzukiSuzukiJapan, 1909 > present47 models
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sales fell 43%, and HondaHondaJapan, 1948 > present102 models
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sales tumbled 41% in September. There is no indication that Japanese auto sales will rebound any time in the future, and these sales declines could persist for the rest of the year. Japanese market share has fallen 1% this year to 22% and could fall more. 

The loss in sales is forcing Japanese automakers to consider cutting production at their Chinese factories. The current plan is for Nissan, Honda and Toyota to cut production in China by 50% for the near future. 

Every cloud has a silver lining, though. Chinese auto sales were actually up 2% in September and non-Japanese automakers are taking advantage. BMW'sBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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deliveries were up 40% in Asia; AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
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sales were up 20.5% in China; VolkswagenVolkswagenGermany, 1938 > present98 models
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sales were up 17.2%. Even HyundaiHyundaiRepublic of Korea, 1967 > present79 models
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/KiaKiaRepublic of Korea, 1944 > present52 models
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sales ticked up 9.5%. 

There is no sign that the hardship for Japanese automakers in China will stop any time soon.

Source: Automotive News