Japanese Automakers’ 2014 Production Best on Record

TOKYO – Japanese automakers turned in a record performance in 2014 as global production grew an average of 3.4% to 26,392,377 units.

Sales results were less consistent, although a record year by Toyota kept it the world’s No.1 automaker.

Toyota and its Daihatsu small-car and Hino truck-making subsidiaries produced a record 10,285,546 vehicles, up 1.7% from 2013. Overseas output grew for a third straight year, rising 4.2% to a record 6,074,054 units.

Production of Toyota’s core-brand vehicles, accounting for 87.5% of the automaker’s total, increased 1.3% to 9,004,825 units, also a new high.

In 2015, Toyota is forecasting a 1.0% decline to 10,210,000 builds including 9,010,000 Toyotas, virtually unchanged.

Global sales climbed 2.5% to a record 10,231,000, making Toyota the world’s top-selling automaker for a third consecutive year, some 100,000 units ahead of Volkswagen.

Toyota brand sales grew 2.0% to 9,147,000 units, also a new high, including 2,319,997 in Japan and 7,593,000 overseas. Daihatsu and Hino reported 5.0% and 4.0% growth to 915,000 and 168,000 units, respectively.

Second-ranked Nissan produced 5,097,772 units, up 3.0% from 2013, including 4,216,888 outside Japan.

By market, the auto maker built 1,175,575 cars and trucks in China, down 2.2%, and 947,558 in the U.S., up 19.6%. Mexican production rose 18.5% to 805,967 units; U.K. builds fell 0.3% to 500,238; and Nissan Spain output grew 7.0% to 141,102.

In other markets where Nissan operates assembly plants including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil and Russia, production rose 2.1% to 646,445 units.

Against this backdrop, global sales grew 4.1% in 2014 to 5,310,064 units, of which 87.4% were overseas. Nissan delivered 1,796,956 vehicles in North America, up 11.9%, including 1,386,895 in the U.S., 293,204 in Mexico and 115,445 in Canada.

Sales in China grew marginally, by 0.5%, to 1,221,598 units, while Europe, including Russia, registered 13.4% growth to 738,730. In other overseas markets including Southeast Asia, volume declined 2.0% to 882,517 units.

In Japan, Nissan sales fell 1.3% to 670,263 units. Included were 241,534 minicars, up 29.9% year-on-year due mainly to the full-year effect of the 0.66L DAYZ model launched in June 2013.

Exports from Japan declined 12.9% to 472,638 units. Included were 221,286 to North America, down 36.8%; 43,758 to Europe, up 40.5%; and 207,594 to other global markets, up 29.0%.

Honda, Suzuki Set Records

Honda, Japan’s third-largest automaker, produced a record 4,513,769 vehicles, up 5.0% over 2013 record levels.

By market, Honda produced 1,807,124 units in North America, up 1.5%, also a new high; 1,482,574 in Asia including China, up 7.9%; 958,179 in Japan, up 14.0%; 119,995 in Europe, down 14.3%; and 145,897 in other markets, down 10.1%.

The U.S., Honda’s main global manufacturing base, registered a 3.1% decline to 1,267,904 units while China, No.3 behind the U.S. and Japan, reported 8.6% growth to 856,063.

The automaker did not report 2014 global sales, although in Japan it reported an 11.2% increase to 848,753 units on the strength of strong Fit and Vezel sales.

Sales in the standard-car segment (above 0.66L) rose 25.3% to 447,350 units whereas deliveries of minicars (up to 0.66L) fell 1.1% to 401,403.

Suzuki, ranked No.4, manufactured a record 3,016,710 units in 2014, up 6.0%. Production included 1,957,381 units overseas, mostly in India, and 1,059,329 in Japan.

Of the domestic total, an estimated 75.0% (787,370 units) were for sale in the Japan. Of those, 90.1% were minicars including OEM models produced for Nissan and Mazda.

Suzuki did not report global sales.

Mazda, on the strength of its growing Skyactiv lineup, produced 1,328,426 units, up 5.0%, including 934,300 in Japan, down 3.3%, and 394,126 overseas, up 32.2%.

In Japan, the automaker built 312,453 CX-5 models, 263,231 Mazda3s (sold in Japan as the Axela), and 138,072 Mazda6s (sold in Japan as the Atenza), up 6.2%, 7.0% and 7.2%, respectively.

Overseas, due mainly to the launch of Mazda Mexico’s manufacturing operations in Salamanca, the automaker produced 162,295 Mazda3s in 2014, up 255.0%. Elsewhere, it assembled 94,004 Mazda6 models, down 17.2%, and 52,402 CX-5s, up 125.0%.

Meanwhile, Mazda reported a 1.7% decline in Japanese sales in 2014 to 224,372 units, good for a 4.0% market share. Included were 56,971 minicars supplied by Suzuki, down 2.0%.

Mazda exported 761,185 units representing 81.5% of domestic production, including 313,318 to North America, 213,524 to Europe, 84,990 to Oceania, and 149,185 units to other markets. Main export models were the CX-5 and Mazda3, respectively totaling 282,481 and 222,595 deliveries.

Mitsubishi, Fuji Post Gains

Mitsubishi, also reporting record output, produced 1,261,342 units last year, up 1.8%. Builds were almost evenly divided between Japan, up 8.3% to 640,890 (including 637,897 cars), and 621,452 vehicles overseas, down 4.0% from prior-year. Included were 514,638 in Asia, down 3.9%, and 69,173 in North America, up 2.7%.

Mitsubishi’s domestic sales have fallen steadily since June 2014 and the automaker finished the year with 125,077 deliveries, off 10.0%, mainly due to the effect of the new higher consumption tax. By vehicle type, minicar deliveries totaled 80,366 units, down 4.1%.

Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru cars, reported global production of 888,812 units, up 9.9%, including 695,790 in Japan (up 8.8%) and 193,022 overseas (up 14.1%).

Sales in the Japanese market fell 6.2% to 169,553, including 42,991 minicars supplied by Toyota’s Daihatsu small-car subsidiary, down 21.6% year-on-year.

Exports, led by strong demand in North America and China, grew 15.0% to 541,586 units.

Daihatsu produced 1,098,271 units in 2014, up 5.0%. Global sales rose 4.2% to 1,110,789 units including 708,207 in Japan, of which 706,287 were minicars.

By manufacturer, overseas production shares now accounts for 63.7% in the case of Toyota (59.1% counting Daihatsu and Hino output), 80.5% of total output by Nissan, 78.8% at Honda, 64.9% at Suzuki, 50.8% at Mitsubishi, 29.7% at Mazda, and 21.7% at Fuji.