Is Japan's Honeymoon with the CRZ over???

[TCroly]

When the CRZ went on sale in Japan last March Honda took 10,000 orders in the first week. It appeared that Honda had a real hit on its hands for the JDM. These sales continued as the Japanese government continued to extend incentives for hybrid vehicles. Now this:

October vehicle sales take sharpest plunge | The Japan Times Online

The article referenced above makes note that the government incentives expired in September and that Honda's overall October sales were down by 30%. No specific mention of the CRZs sales numbers, but I am wondering what kind of sales rate the CRZ will maintain in Japan absent the government incentives for hybrids.

Any of our Japan based members wish to comment.

[gomarlins3]

Honda had to have incentives to sell their cars over there? That is surprising to me. Kind of like the domestics over here.

[dougal]

Does make me wonder a couple things:

1. How did auto sales do here in the U.S.A. the month after "cash for klunkers" and other big incentive programs? Seems to me like the big drop could be the result of more people than normal buying cars while incentives were in place (i.e., big sale is this weekend, so I'll buy on Sunday and not Monday).
2. What about overall car sales in Japan for that month? A 27% drop is very large if auto sales in general were down 5%, but it's another story if sales in general were down 25%.

I've always loved statistics, but also know how they can be twisted or used to tell the story you want to sell!

[Ivan1]

I dont think you can draw any conclusions about CRZ numbers...

as far as imports, their sales were up:

TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Automobile sales in Japan, excluding
660cc minivehicles, sank 26.7 percent in October from a year
earlier to 193,258 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers
Association said on Monday.

Sales at top-ranked Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), excluding the
Lexus brand, dropped 24.2 percent, while Nissan Motor Co (7201.T)
plunged 30.6 percent and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) tumbled 29.9
percent.

Government subsidies to replace cars more than 13 years old
ended at the beginning of September.

The following is a sales breakdown, with percentage changes
from a year earlier, for October:
TOTAL 193,258 (-26.7)
Cars 171,641 (-28.8)
Trucks 20,968 (-3.3)
Toyota Motor (7203.T) 103,586 (-24.7)

- Toyota brand 101,518 (-24.2)

- Lexus* 2,068 (-45.5)
Nissan Motor (7201.T) 25,373 (-30.6)
Honda Motor (7267.T) 30,422 (-29.9)
Mazda Motor (7261.T) 6,085 (-52.2)
Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) 2,500 (-48.7)
Suzuki Motor (7269.T) 4,450 (-8.9)
Fuji Heavy (7270.T) 3,138 (-34.1)
Imports 14,766 (+29.6)

[Ivan1]

as far as US honeymoon, things have looked good so far...interesting chart:

[crzsuzuka]

A couple of years ago the prime minister stated that Japan would cut 25% of the country's carbon footprint. In order to cut back on green house gasses and at the same time sell more cars, the government came up with the idea of incentives. The more eco friendly the car the better the incentive. If a person buys a CR-Z, Insight, Prius, or other hybrid they would receive ￥100000 or about $1000.00. The less eco friendly the less money.

Another thing to remember is that people in Japan love new things. I am not sure what the sales look like now, but if you lived where I live you would not think that the honeymoon was over because I keep seeing more and more CR-Zs every week.

[TCroly]

Originally Posted by crzsuzuka

Another thing to remember is that people in Japan love new things. I am not sure what the sales look like now, but if you lived where I live you would not think that the honeymoon was over because I keep seeing more and more CR-Zs every week.

I read somewhere that more than 30,000 CRZs have been sold in Japan. I don't know if that number is accurate. But if it is, that would be more than ten times the number of CRZs that have been sold in the entire US.

In fact, I would bet that the CRZ will not sell 30,000 units in the US over the next 3 years. So that is the honeymoon that I make reference to in Japan. I do expect that you see them everywhere, my question is will this high rate of sales continue in the absence of the Japan government incentives?

[crzsuzuka]

I believe that the sales have dropped since the incentives ended.

[Kenny Carwash]

Originally Posted by Ivan1

as far as US honeymoon, things have looked good so far...interesting chart:

Who the hell is buying all those Audi A5s? It's always looked to me like the misfit of the Audi range: somewhere between the A4 and A6, but more expensive than either. Messy lines that look out of place compared to its siblings and seemingly competing directly with the TT.

The target market seems to be people who want a TT that doesn't look like a TT. The practical argument doesn't really stack up because you could get an A4 that drives as well and has better rear passenger and luggage space and the luxury argument doesn't either because you could have an A6 for the same price. It's a car full of weird compromises, so I'm bemused that it's selling so well!