Japan's imported car sales down sharply in August

Japan's new imported car sales in August, including those made abroad by Japanese automakers, plunged 10.2 percent on year to 21,514 units, local media reported Thursday.

Sales of foreign-brand vehicles were down 6.7 percent to 18,275 units, while those of Japanese-brand vehicles shed 25.9 percent to 3,239 units, Japan's Kyodo News Agency citing the Japan Automobile Importers Association as saying.

The top three foreign brands were Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW, all from German. Mercedes-Benz sold 4,568 units in the reporting period, up 10.8 percent from the previous month, for a market share of 21.23 percent.

Volkswagen came second with 3,729 units sold, down 14.2 percent, for a 17.33 percent market share, followed by BMW with 2,692 units, down 14 percent, for a 12.51 percent market share.

Among domestic brands, Nissan's sales dropped 32.7 percent to 1, 736 units while Toyota's sales rose 10.4 percent to 1,185 units.