Toyota’s China sales dropped 44.1 percent year-on-year to about 45,600 units in October, The Nikkei [sub] says. Toyota confirmed the number. A territorial dispute over uninhabited rocks in the East China Sea triggered a massive boycotts of Japanese goods, especially of high-profile cars. In September, Toyota’s China sales were down 40 percent in September.
Last month, dealerships of Japanese cars were torched, Japanese cars were overturned and drivers beaten. The demonstrations have since stopped. Now, it’s no longer the loss of the car that worries Chinese, but the loss of face. Which possibly is more powerful in the long-term.
“I am supposed to impress people with my car,” says a friend in China. “I don’t want to apologize for it.” The friend expressed intentions to trade the current Corolla to “something from Volkswagen.”
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