Consumer not spending

Weak domestic consumption is undermining the auto industry but companies that aggressively engage the domestic market or are strong exporters are bucking the trend. In 1997 car sales fell by 14% and in 1998 by 6%. Despite talk of the economy picking up, sales have since done worse, falling by 10% in the past 12 months. The smaller companies such as Nissan and Mitsubishi have had more market success recently than the larger companies. Yet Anne-Marie Main, head of Japanese equities at Hill Samuel, thinks the success of second-tier companies such as Nissan and Mitsubishi is short-term only an...