TOKYO -- Japan's vehicle exports fell nearly 1 percent in 1990 because of a drop in exports to the United States and an increase in overseas production of Japanese cars, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
Exports to the United States, the largest market for Japan, accounting for about 40 percent of the total, were down 8 percent to 2, 236,988 units compared with 1989, the association said.
The loss was made up by production of Japanese cars in the United States.
In 1990, Japanese automakers produced 1,311,822 cars and trucks at factories in the United States, up 16.1 percent from the year before, the association said.
'The production of cars and trucks in overseas plants was largely responsible for the drop in exports,' said a spokesman for the association.
Japan's total vehicle exports for 1990 were 5,831,555 units, or a drop of 0.9 percent from 1989, the association said.
Car exports were up 1.8 percent to 4,482,274. Truck shipments were down 9.4 percent to 1,309,313, and buses were up 13.7 percent to 39,968.
Exports to Europe, Asia and the Middle East showed a healthy rise in 1990, the association said.
Japan exported 1,750,497 units to Europe, a jump of 2.4 percent from 1989. Exports to Asia climbed 11 percent to 569,143 units, and exports to the Middle East were up 27.5 percent to 284,194 units.
