Sales strong at Japanese automakers despite potholes

ByABC News
April 26, 2008, 5:43 PM

TOKYO -- Honda saw its profit slashed due to a tax dispute and Mitsubishi racked up costs for closing an Australian plant. But Mazda smallest of Japan's five biggest automakers emerged unscathed Friday to report booming profits for the January-March quarter.

Mitsubishi cited the closing of an Australian factory in the southern city of Adelaide earlier this year. It had operated the plant for 28 years.

The recent rise in oil prices have proved a boon for Japanese automakers because of their focus on smaller, fuel efficient cars.

All three Japanese automakers that reported earnings Friday saw global sales grow during the fiscal year through March.

At Honda, which makes the Civic compact and Odyssey minivan, fiscal year unit sales jumped 7.5% worldwide to 3.93 million vehicles.

Tax officials say Honda had underpaid for joint ventures with Chinese companies over a five-year span ended March 2006, but the nation's second-biggest automaker says it has been abiding by law. No agreement could be reached with the tax authorities.

Mazda, which makes the Demio subcompact and RX-8 sportscar, sold 1.36 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year just ended, up 4.7% from the previous year. It expects sales to keep growing, climbing 9% to 1.48 million vehicles in the fiscal year ending March 2009 worldwide.