Japanese Automakers’ China Car Sales Tumble in September

BEIJING—Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co. Ltd, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, and Toyota Motor Corp. saw their sales in China tumble in September as a chip shortage hit vehicle production in the world’s biggest car market.

Honda said it sold 121,448 vehicles in China last month, down 28 percent from a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a shortage of components.

Honda’s logo on its Modulo model at its showroom at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 19, 2019. (Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters)

Nissan said it sold 104,443 cars, down 26 percent, due to “external headwind including the ongoing pandemic, cross-industry material shortages, slowdowns, and increased competition.”

Toyota said it sold 115,000 cars, down 36 percent.

Separately, U.S. automaker General Motors Co., which only reports quarterly China sales, said it sold over 623,000 in July through September, down 19 percent from the same period last year, “impacted by the ongoing global semiconductor supply chain disruption.”