Driven by high fuel prices, the market for kei cars is booming, and few automakers are benefiting from the upturn like Suzuki. Suzuki, the leader in Kei cars, has passed Honda, and taken third place behind Toyota and Nissan in Japanese domestic car and light commercial vehicle sales. Between January and October 2006, Suzuki outsold Honda by nearly 7000 units.

Despite the Japanese economic recovery, regular car sales are going down, but mini or kei cars are booming in Japan. With engines limited to 660 cc, low cost of around one million yen ($9,000) and government tax benefits, kei cars account for 35 percent of sales in Japan’s 6 million a year car market. Japanese people view cars as a normal commodity, and they do not want to pay more for larger, more luxurious cars.

## Source: Shiotsu via Autoblog ##

Posted in: Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, News, Microcars, Japan, Car Buying
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