AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/07 Report--

Nissan is considering withdrawing from the South Korean market, where sales of Japanese products have fallen sharply due to strained political and trade relations between Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported.

Nissan and other Nissan products, including beer, clothing and cars, have been boycotted by South Korea, and relations between the two countries have gradually deteriorated. Since the Japanese government tightened export controls on three kinds of semiconductor materials to South Korea on July 4 this year, Japanese beer, passenger cars and clothing have been strongly boycotted by South Korean consumers, and sales have dropped sharply.

Only 1398 Japanese cars were newly licensed in August, according to the Korea Import Automobile Association. It was 3247 in August last year.

In terms of brands, Toyota's sales fell 59 per cent to 542, Nissan's 87 per cent to 58, Nissan's premium brand Infiniti 68 per cent to 57 and Honda 81 per cent to 138.

Toyota premium car brand Lexus launched 603 vehicles in August, an increase of 8% over August last year, but a decrease of 39% from July this year. The Lexus ES300h, which ranked third in popularity among imported cars in July, fell to 10th in August.

Japanese car sales in South Korea have shrunk rapidly since July, with sales of 3946 in June and 2674 in July. From January to August this year, Japanese car sales in South Korea were about 27600, down 0.7 per cent from the same period last year. South Korean media reported that this is the first time that sales of Japanese imported cars in South Korea have fallen since 2014.

Japanese carmakers account for a relatively small share of the South Korean car market, which is dominated by Hyundai and German imports, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

In addition to stopping sales in South Korea, Nissan is also considering launching an assembly plant for Renault Samsung in Busan, which mainly produces cars for export markets, the Financial Times said, citing unnamed sources.

Industry sources told South Korean media: "even if relations between South Korea and Japan improve, the aftermath of boycotting Japanese goods is likely to last for a long time." It may be difficult for Japanese cars to develop new customers. "

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