Sales of new vehicles in Japan rose in fiscal 2024 for the third straight year, despite production suspensions at major automakers.
Auto industry groups say that 4,575,705 units were sold in the year through March. That is up 1 percent from the previous 12-month period.
Sales of regular passenger cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles rose 1.6 percent to 2,948,294 units. Minicars inched up 0.1 percent to 1,627,411 units.
Some carmakers had to suspend production after their falsification of test data came to light, but sales revived in the latter part of the year with the introduction of new models.
Annual unit sales have remained below 5 million since fiscal 2020 when the COVID crisis began.
Auto groups say that the outlook is unclear as an explosion last month at an auto parts maker has forced some manufacturers to cut production.