GUANGZHOU -- China is expected to overtake Japan as a market for Japanese-branded automobiles for the first time this year, with Toyota Motor and other players planning to expand production capacity in the country to limit their exposure to the brewing U.S.-China trade war.
The seven major Japanese automakers sold 2.65 million new vehicles in China between January and July, up 5% on the year, with the full-year total projected to top 5 million. Meanwhile, their sales in Japan are projected to total around 4.9 million. The U.S. will most likely remain their biggest market.
