Production Up at 3 Japanese Automakers

TOKYO October 25, 2004; The AP reported that production in Japan rose at three of the nation's top five automakers in September from a year ago, but was down at scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as well as at Nissan Motor Co., according to figures released Tuesday.

Domestic production at Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, rose for the fourth consecutive month in September, climbing 11.2 percent to 338,691 vehicles from the same month a year ago.

Mitsubishi Motors, which has been plagued with a string of recall problems, posted a steep on-year drop of 33 percent to 51,439 vehicles in September in Japan.

Honda Motor Co. saw its domestic production in September surge by 11 percent to 117,120 vehicles from a year ago, up for the fourth straight month on strong sales.

But Nissan Motor Co. said its domestic production in September fell 2.8 percent to 135,945 vehicles because of a dip in production of compact and minivan models. Nissan has an alliance with Renault SA of France.

Mazda Motor Corp., which is about a third owned by Ford Motor Co., said its September production in Japan inched up 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 77,035 vehicles -- the first increase in three months.