Japanese car sales have plummeted here due to an ongoing boycott and coronavirus outbreak.
According to the Korean Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, sales through Japanese automakers from January to July fell 55.4% year-on-year. During the same period, overall sales of imported products increased to 14.9%.
In other words, while sales of Toyota, Honda and Nissan fell, sales of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen increased dramatically.
The share of Japanese car brands on the Korean import market in the first seven months increased from 20.3% last year to 7.9% this year, while that of German brands increased from 52.1% to 62%.
Industry observers accuse the ongoing boycott of Japanese products in protest at Tokyo’s industry restrictions. But they also say Toyota, Honda and Nissan are lagging behind their rivals in terms of product competitiveness.
Genesis’ G80 and GV80 premium sedans have been huge hits here since its previous release this year, while Tesla’s cheapest electric car, the Model 3, also achieved strong sales when, despite everything, it has been brought back here. Japanese manufacturers, on the other hand, lacked new products.
Unable to tolerate additional losses, Nissan announced in May that it would be withdrawing completely from the Korean market. It presented up to 15 million won and controlled to empty all of its stock of 824 cars with the high-end Infiniti logo (US$1-1,185 W).
Toyota and Honda will also offer significant discounts, but there are no symptoms of increased sales. Toyota (including Lexus) saw sales falling 24.4% in July compared to last month, while Honda sales fell 0.8% to just 129 cars despite the arrival of a new model.
None of them intend to retire. Instead, Toyota continues to invest in its operations in Korea, implementing six new models in the first part of this year and renovating showrooms and service centers in Bundang, Suwon and Wonju.
They also attract Korean consumers by other means. Honda Korea donated a hundred million W to the Korean Red Cross on Monday for flood victims, while Toyota donated a hundred million W to the Korean Disaster Relief Association.