In today's edition, industrials editor/analyst Brendan Byrnes discusses the possible effect of expiring government subsidies for new vehicles in Japan at the end of September. The government aid has helped automakers post strong sales so far in Japan this year, and some investors are worried that the end of this aid could stall sales in the country. It's a legitimate concern, as Toyota got 27% of its first-half sales from Japan, with Honda getting 22%, and Nissan 16%.
Overall, investors shouldn't be overly concerned with this, though. Toyota and Honda have been doing a good job recovering from last year's natural disasters, and should be able to make up for much of these potential lost sales with increasing sales in international markets, particularly the U.S. Check out the video below for more on these automakers and the state of the industry.
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