Japanese and South Korean Car Sales Plummet in November

Sales of new cars in Japan and South Korea dropped by nearly 30 percent last month, confirming that the downturn in the auto industry is global. According to data provided by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, November car and truck sales in Japan fell 27.3% to 215,783 units from the same month a year ago, marking the worst November in more than 30 years. Sales of mini cars with engines smaller than 660cc (0.66-liters) were down by 0.7% to 153,101 units. Overall, the Japanese car market fell 18.2% in November from a year earlier to 368,884 vehicles. Japan's largest automaker, Toyota, saw its sales fell 27.7% while Honda dropped 21.6%, Nissan 29.5% and Mazda 33%.

In South Korea, domestic car sales in November plunged 27.2 percent to 74,217 units from a year earlier. The country's biggest carmaker, Hyundai, reported a 34 percent decline while sales at GM's Daewoo unit plunged 57 percent. Surprisingly, Kia, ranked second in South Korea, recorded an increase of 3.7 percent in auto sales compared to last November.