Japanese automobile sales down in January

TOKYO, Jan. 29 Kyodo - Domestic new automobile sales fell at a smaller rate in the first 27 days of January from a year earlier than over the previous few months, industry sources said Saturday, suggesting that sharp falls since the September end of government subsidies may be about to stop.
The roughly 15 percent fall to about 135,000 units this month, compared with 26.7 to 30.7 percent declines between October and December, is attributable to the launch of new models with better fuel efficiency and the marketing efforts by automakers for New Year sales, the sources said.
The development may signal a recovery in personal consumption, after auto sales in terms of the number of registered units marked a record fall for each month from October to December, in the wake of the government rescinding subsidies for the purchases of environmentally friendly cars.
The sales up to Thursday represent an 18 percent rise from January 2009, when they suffered a sharp decline in the aftermath of the collapse in September 2008 of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to the sources.
Sales figures for the full month of January will be released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association on Tuesday.