TOKYO: Sales of imported foreign-brand vehicles in July rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier to 21,828 units, up for the fourth straight month, industry data showed Thursday.
The rise reflects the continuing popularity of clean-diesel models despite Volkswagen’s fuel-efficiency scandal, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said. By brand, Mercedes Benz was ranked first for the 17th consecutive month, with sales of 5,046 units, up 15.4 percent.
Volkswagen came second with 3,727 units, down 11.2 percent, followed by BMW with 3,570 units, up 14.1 percent. The three are all German brands. Imported foreign vehicles accounted for 7.7 percent of all new cars sold in Japan, excluding minivehicles, hitting a record high for the month.
