Japan: Used Vehicle Sales Drop in April 2006
TOKYO May 16, 2006; Japan Today reported that used vehicle sales slipped 5.2% to 407,117 units in April from the year before, marking the first drop in four months due apparently to a decrease in the number of attractive used cars traded in for new cars, an industry body said Monday.
An official at the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said, "The fall appears to have stemmed from the fall in the number of used cars put on the market as trade-ins for new automobiles amid a slowdown in new car sales." By type of used cars sold in the reporting month, sales of passenger cars declined 6.1% to 341,860 units, the first fall in three months.