Japan’s major automakers see sales in China fall in 2012 amid territorial row

TOKYO – Japan’s three biggest automakers – Toyota, Nissan and Honda – say their vehicle sales in China fell last year amid a territorial dispute that prompted Chinese consumers to boycott Japanese products.

Toyota Motor Corp. said its sales in China fell 4.9 per cent in 2012 to 840,500 vehicles, the first annual decline since at least 2001. Nissan Motor Co.’s sales dropped 5.3 per cent to 1,181,500 vehicles, the first decline since it set up a joint venture with a local partner in 2003.

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Honda Motor Co.’s sales in China fell 3.1 per cent to 598,576 vehicles, the second consecutive decline.

The Japanese government’s decision in September to buy a cluster of disputed islands in the East China Sea from their private Japanese owners set off protests and boycotts in China.