American-made automobiles were the best selling foreign vehicles in Japan in July, edging ahead of German cars for the first time, the Japan Importers' Association reports.
Sales of cars from the United States shot up 80 percent from the same month last year to 11,536 vehicles in July, while those of German models rose 7 percent to 10,437.It was the first time monthly sales of U.S.-made vehicles exceeded that of German autos since the association began keeping statistics in 1960, said association spokesman Hisayoshi Minami.
The Japanese yen's continued appreciation against the dollar helped Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp. and other importers lower prices. The dollar has fallen more than 10 percent against the yen so far this year.
In addition, there is growing consumer interest in foreign models, Minami said.
By automaker, 727 passenger cars from General Motors were sold in July, 1,289 from Ford; 1,367 from Chrysler; 5,603 from Honda USA; 898 from Toyota Motor's U.S. plant, and 5 from Nissan Motor's U.S. plant.