Japan's new car sales in China plunge in Nov

TOKYO - Japanese automakers on Monday reported new car sales in China declined in November, raising fears that the tensions between the two countries over a territorial dispute would further hurt the Japanese industry.

Toyota Motor Corp on Monday said its new car sales in China fell 22.1 percent in November from a year earlier to 63,800, recovering from a 44.1 percent fall in October.

While separately, Mazda motor Corp reported its new car sales in China dropped 29.7 percent in November year on year to 12,187, improving from a 45 percent fall the previous month.

As of November, Toyota's sales in China this year dropped 3.3 percent from the same period last year to 749,600, making it almost impossible for the company to achieve its original target of selling 1 million cars in China this year.

Toyota's car sales plunged 48.9 percent in September, the biggest fall since January, in the same month when ties between China and Japan began to sour over the territorial dispute.

Although Japanese automakers resumed sales campaigns in China, the world's largest auto market, around mid-October as anti-Japan sentiments showed signs of subsiding, the sales remained unsatisfactory, Japanese media reported.

Toyota, Mazda and other Japanese automakers said at an international motor show in Guangzhou in southern China on Nov 22 that despite risk factors at automakers' plants and sales outlets, they still see China as one of their most important markets, according to report.