In January-February period, used vehicle exports totaled 129,739 units, up 18.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Remarkable increase of exports to Myanmar and Pakistan contributed to the February’s upward results.

Used vehicles bound for Russia, ranked first, were 10,162 units.

Exprots to the second-ranked Myanmar jumped from last year’s 356 units to 9,795 units in this February. The average FOB price of the shipped vehicles also climbed to 880,000 yen.

Exports to United Arab Emirates(U.A.E.), ranked third, rose 19.1 percent to 8,301 units.

Used vehicles bound for New Zealand increased 2.9 percent on the year to 4,672 units, while those for Chile declined 7.7 percent to 4,509 units.

Exports to South Africa slumped 41,8 percent to 4,055 units.

Used cars bound for Pakistan jumped from last year’s 973 vehicles to 3,681 vehicles to 3,681 vehicles.

Remarkable year-on-year increases were also found in exported volume to Kyrgyz (up 67%), Zambia (up74%), Trinidada anda Tobago (up nearly 4-times), Guyana (nearly doubled), Jamaica (nearly doubled), and Namibia (nearly tripled) etc.

In contrast, exports were very weak in Thailand (down 766 percent), Sri Lanka (down 61 percent) and China (off 73 percent).

Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Co. formally agreed in March to receive compensation request from exporters of used vehicles, who were forced to pay fees of radiation measurement of vehicles to be exported to overseas markets.

The latest version of the Prius will be priced from 2.73 million rupees ($51,783) to 2.94 million rupees.

The company also said that the Corolla Altis sold in India can now be fitted with a special seat that swivels and slides to allow easier entry and exit from the vehicle for people with mobility impairments.

Many of the stolen HiAce and Land Cruiser vehicles are believed to have been smuggled to regions such as the Middle East and Africa, while many of the Celsior vehicles were sold on the domestic black market, according to the organization including the National Police Agency and automobile industry association.

By model, thieves took 2,773 HiAce vehicles, 1,419 Celsior vehicles and 1,071 Land Cruiser vehicles.

The number of reported car thefts totaled 24,927 cases in 2011, up 4.8 percent or 1,152 cases from the preceding year, the report said. The figure marked the first year-on-year increase since 2003, when the number peaked at about 64,000 cases.

By prefecture, Aichi, where Toyota’s head office is located, was the region where the greatest number of automobiles were stolen at 5,026 cases. Saitama came second wiht 1,766 cases.

Russia is Mazda’s second largest market in Europe and sales are rapidly increasing. Mazda sold approximately 28,000 units during the period from January through September 2011, a year-on-year increase of approximately 77 percent.

In line with its mid term plan objectives, Mazda is expanding its business in emerging markets.

The October figure also marked a 108.5% increase compared with the previous months.

Deregistrations of medium to large-passenger car rose 45.7% to 34,176 units, while those of small cars increased 49.0% to 52,210 units.

Deregistrations of medium to heavy-duty trucks were up 16.9% to 4,587 untis, while those of light-duty trucks were up 49.0% to 52,210 units. Used bus deregistrations totaled 570 units, up 22.8% from a year earlier.

Deregistered special purpose vehicles totaled 2,034 units, up 27.8% from a year ago result.

So far this year (January through October), deregistered vehicles for export purpose totaled 815,039 units, up 7.1% from a year earlier.

In November, Japan’s automobile organizations already urged the government to terminate automobile acquistion and weight taxes (tonnage tax), while calling for new incentives to help sell environmentally friendly vehicles, after the current tax benefit system ends next year.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Japan currently imposes nine car-related taxes totaling 2.4 to 49 times more in terms of monetary amount than those imposed in the United States and European countries for purchasing and keeping vehicles, noting the levies constitute double taxation that must be abolished.

“Automobiles are a lifeline for people today, but the extremely heavy load in maintaing them is placing large burden on users,” Japan Automobile Federation President Setsuo Tanaka told at a press conference in Tokyo.

The groups said abolition of the taxes would also help the auto industry maintain production and employment in Japan amid the strong yen, which has lowered Japanese automakers’ competitive power and even driven some toward collapse.

The organizations also called for fresh incentives for eco-friendly vehicles, which have been eligible for tax benefits under the current system that will expire at the end of this fiscal year.

A government program that reduces taxes levied on eco-friendly cars will likely be extended beyond sping next year, when it is currently scheduled to expire, according to sources.

The program, which reduces automobile acquistion and weight taxes on vehicles with high fuel efficiency, will likely be extended until fiscal 2013 or later, the sources said.

The government and the ruling Democratic party of Japan have plans to conduct a full-fledged review of the automobile acquisition and weight taxes in th future.

However, a greater priority in terms of tax reform forfiscal 2012 is discussions on a proposed hike in the consumption tax rate, the sources said.

According to a country based analysis conducted by the International Auto Trade Association (iATA), Russia maintained the largest destination for Japanese used vehicle exports. Used vehicles bound for that country were 9,374 units, slightly up 2.7% on the yar. The average FOB price dropped by around 20,000 yen.

Exports to the second ranked New Zealand climbed 51.2% to 9,276 units due to last minute demand before the introduction of strict er emission rules for used cars. The avearge FOB price remailed flat.

Vehicles destined for U.A.E. totaled 6,598 units, up around 50,000 yen.

Used vehicles bound for Chile, ranked fourth, were 6,406 units, up 9.3%. Exports to South Africa, ranked fifth, were 5,463 units, down 6.8%.

Used vehicles bound for Pakstan, ranked sixth, significantly increased from last year’s 639 units to 4,317 units. The average FOB price, however, fell from last year’s 825,000 yen to 505,000 yen.

In october, remarkable year-on-year increases were found in exported volume to Kyrgyz (up 49%), Trinidad and Tobago (up 98%), Suriname (up 31%), Zambia (up 52%), Afghanistan (up Jamaica (up 303%), etc.

In contrast, exports were very weak in Kenya (down 41%), Bangladesh (off 35%), Georgia (off 36%), and Thailand (off 53%).

So far this year, used vehicle exports totaled 699,680 units, up 0.2% from a year earlier.

Sales of over 1,000cc-engine class vehicles (so-called “Tourokusha”) in Japan marked the first increase in 13 months. The August sales were 313,70 units, up 1.7% from a year earlier.

In the first seven months of this year, sales of new over 1,000cc engine vehicles totaled 1,966,951 units, down 25.9% year-on-year from last year’s 2,653,546 units.

So far this year, combined sales of over1,000cc engine vehicles and minivehicles totaled 3,084,337 units, down 23.7% from a year earlier.

The September figure, which is the highest monthly level in this year, also marked a 60.0% decrease compared with the previous month.

Deregistrations of mid- to large-passenger car increased 1.0% to 24,804 units.

Deregistrations of medium- to heavy-duty trucks fell 16.7% to 2,106 untis, while those of light-duty trucks were down 12.9% to 5,694 untis. Used bus deregistrations totaled 310 units, down 20.5% from a year earlier.

Toyota vehicles (26,948 units) took a 52.9% of total deregistered vehicles for the month, 4.6 percentage points smaller than previous month.

So far this year (January through September), deregistered vehicles for exprot purpsoe totaled 708,756 units, up 3.2% from a year earlier.

For the six months, a total of 2,444 auctions was held, 90 auctions fewer than previous year. The March 11 disaster caused the decline in auctions in Japan.

Sold vehicles at auctions declined 0.5% to 1,904,463 units.

Average price of sold vehicles increased 34,000 yen to 530,000 yen. The sum of sold prices rose 6.3% to 1,093.34 billion yen.

The rate of sold vehicles against total auctioned vehicles was relatively high in the beginning part of the period due to shortage of good-conditioned vehicles in the market. The prices of sold vehicles were also rising.

However, the rate of sold vehicles began to fall in recent weeks. Industry watchers forecast that the auctioned prices are expected to fall in towards the year-end period.