Japan’s automakers are facing a sales crisis in China, data shows, as a rapid shift to electric vehicles has upended the world’s largest auto market and led to a plunge in purchases of gasoline-powered cars.
Total sales of Japanese auto brands in China were down 32 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, more than double the pace of the overall market contraction, industry data analysed by Reuters showed.
While other automakers like Volkswagen AG have also been caught out by the sharp shift in China, Japanese automakers stand out because of their limited showing in the fast-growing category of electric and plug-in hybrid sales.
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