January 7, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1423

TOKYO, Jan 6: Japan’s new auto sales in December rose 1.4 per cent from a year earlier to 301,144 vehicles as robust sales of compact passenger cars were partly offset by falling truck sales, an industry group said on Monday.

Car sales climbed 5.1 per cent to 245,112 and bus sales rose 3.6 per cent to 1,081, but truck sales skidded 12.2 per cent to 54,951, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA) said.

“Compact passenger cars sold well this month and also compared well against last year’s sales which were affected by the poor economy,” said Takayuki Kato, a spokesman for the association.

Japan’s top carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. sold 115,224 vehicles, down 5.6 per cent from a year ago, while sales by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. rose 2.1 per cent to 53,628, the association said.—AFP