Sales of imported vehicles in Japan declined 5.2 percent in September

Sales of imported vehicles in Japan declined 5.2 percent in September from a year earlier to 26,800 units, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday. Sales of vehicles manufactured by foreign automakers dropped 3.6 percent to 25,503 units, while those made at Japanese carmakers' overseas factories plunged 28.4 percent to 1,297 units.

Total sales of imported vehicles from January to September came to 208,724 units, up 0.7 percent from the same period last year. The tally consisted of 197,691 vehicles made by foreign automakers, up 3.5 percent, and 11,033 units by Japanese manufacturers, down 32.7 percent.

Mercedes-Benz replaced Volkswagen as the top seller in September with a 20.38 percent share on sales of 5,463 units, down 13.1 percent.

Volkswagen came second with a 19.52 percent market share on sales of 5,232 vehicles, down 8.9 percent.

BMW placed third with a 15.06 percent share at 4,036, down 3.4 percent, while fourth-ranked Volvo marked a 60.7 percent increase in sales to 1,670 units for a market share of 6.23 percent.

Opel came in fifth with a 5.03 percent share at 1,348 units, down 28.6 percent.