Japan Share of China’s Car Sales Hits 10-Year Low

The Chinese market share of Japanese-brands passenger vehicles tumbled four points in 2012 to 19%, The Nikkei reports.

The newspaper cites LMC Automotive Ltd., which notes that Japan's share level in the country last year was the lowest since 2002.

Chinese consumers began shunning Japanese cars in September as a territorial dispute heightened tensions between the two countries. The backlash is fading, but anti-Japan sentiment still dampens sales of those marques.

European makes boosted their portion of sales in China by 2 points to 27% last year. Share also grew for brands from the U.S. (+1 point to 14%) and South Korea (+1% to 10%). Demand for Chinese marques was little changed at 30% of total sales.