As of Sep. 9, Japan's three major automakers had released their August new-car sales figures for China, with Toyota, Nissan and Honda all recording double-digit year-on-year declines. Jiji Press attributed the slump to intensifying competition among Chinese electric vehicle makers and growing consumer preference for more price-competitive EVs, which has kept sales of gasoline cars — the mainstay of Japanese automakers — persistently weak in the Chinese market.
Data showed Toyota's August sales in China fell 22.8% year on year to 118,400 units, marking the seventh consecutive month below the prior-year level. Nissan sold 28,275 vehicles, down 51.9%, while Honda sold 26,749, down 49.9%, with both nearly halving. Nissan has now seen year-on-year declines for five consecutive months, while Honda has posted 31 straight months below the previous year's level.
Japanese media noted that Toyota, Nissan and Honda also saw sales declines in China in July. In an August report, Nikkei said Nissan attributed the drop to a rapidly changing Chinese market and increasingly fierce competition.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese-brand passenger vehicle sales reached 1.754 million units in July, up 9.3% year on year, accounting for 77.4% of total passenger vehicle sales — 7.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
The continued slump in Japanese-brand car sales in China has also sparked discussion among Japanese netizens. One commenter said, "This is the trend of the times, but EVs require different technology and suppliers from gasoline cars, and the transition is not easy. The auto industry is Japan's pillar industry. Although it has been protected through various regulations, those same rules have blocked new entrants, creating the current situation. One can only say there is a problem with industrial policy." Another wrote, "If you can't keep up with technological innovation, there's nothing you can do. Japan's auto industry is also nearing its end."
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