Photo/Illutration Nissan Motor Co. displays an electric vehicle model at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in November. (Yuriko Suzuki)

BEIJING--Japan’s Big Three automakers all reported declining new vehicle sales in China, the world’s largest market, in 2024.

Sales figures released Jan. 9 showed that Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. are continuing to struggle in the face of Chinese competition that has government backing.

Simply put, Japanese automakers are struggling to shift production to EVs.

Honda went as far as to set up a base in China but ended up recording the largest decrease in car sales in 2024, selling only 852,269 units, a 30.9-percent decrease over the previous year.

Nissan sold 696,631 cars, a 12.2-percent decrease, while Toyota sold 1.776 million vehicles, a decrease of 6.9 percent.

Honda and Nissan continue to record sharp decreases. In 2023, Honda recorded a 10.1 percent year-on-year decrease, while Nissan had a 24.1-percent decrease. Toyota’s decrease in 2023 was 1.7 percent.

Japanese and other foreign automakers face stiff competition in China from domestic automakers that are marketing cheaper EVs.

Honda opened two EV production bases in China in 2024 and is seeking to sell only EVs in China by 2035.

Toyota is also pushing to establish a plant in Shanghai to produce Lexus EVs.

Nissan, on the other hand, closed its plant in Jiangsu province in 2024.

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