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Imports Brands May Grab 8% of Japan Car Sales in 2013

Imported passenger vehicles, which accounted for 7.7% of Japan's car market last year, could capture a record 8% share this calendar year, according to The Nikkei.
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Imported passenger vehicles, which accounted for 7.7% of Japan's car market last year, could capture a record 8% share this calendar year, according to The Nikkei.

That projection does not include minivehicles (those powered by engines displacing 660 cc or less), which accounted for 40% of the country's passenger car sales in 2012.

The Tokyo-based newspaper, which doesn't attribute the forecast, predicts sales of imported vehicles will climb 10% this year to a 16-year high of about 270,000 units. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn. expects auto sales to drop 13% to 2.94 million vehicles in 2013.

The Nikkei notes that 83,600 imported vehicles were delivered in the January-April period, up 11% from a year earlier. It attributes the gains to strong demand for foreign luxury cars and fuel-efficient Volkswagen models.

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