Japan’s Auto Imports Surge In First Half

Japan’s purchases of foreign-made vehicles rose 35 percent in the first half of 1995, an industry association reported Thursday, just one week after a trade dispute over Japanese auto imports was resolved.

The share of Japan’s auto market held by imports rose to 7 percent from 5.6 percent in last year’s January-to-June period, the Japan Automobile Importers’ Association reported. About one-fifth of the imports, though, came from Japanese plants in the United States.

The 185,637 imported vehicles sold in the first half compared with an overall market totaling 2.6 million vehicles. In last year’s first half, 137,966 imports were sold.

Total sales for 1995 are expected to exceed the association’s original forecast of 345,000 imported vehicles, up 15 percent from 1994.

Honda USA remained the largest seller of American-made cars to Japan, shipping more than the U.S. Big Three automakers combined. Honda’s sales rose 34 percent during the period to 25,513 vehicles. Sales of U.S.-made vehicles from Toyota doubled during the six-month period to almost 11,000.

Total sales by the Big Three were 19,129 vehicles, with Ford’s sales growing 36 percent to 7,218, Chrysler’s 7.3 percent to 7,613 and General Motors’ 1.8 percent to 4,298.

The main reason for the speedy growth of cars from Japanese factories in the United States is the introduction to the home market of several models not made in Japan, like Toyota’s Avalon.

Big Three sales have been stymied for years by a lack of dealership outlets and a paucity of models designed for the Japanese market.

“You’re going to see tremendous growth from the Japanese this year, but the U.S. numbers won’t move until they bring in models that are specifically designed for Japan,” said Ed Brogan, an auto analyst with Jardine Fleming.

“Some of these models are in the works, but they’re not going to be here until next year,” he said.

U.S. automakers also expect help from a trade agreement reached last week following years of bitter squabbling over the openness of Japan’s market for autos and auto parts.

The agreement calls on the Japanese government and manufacturers to encourage Japanese dealers to carry foreign cars.