Tokyo - Japan's automakers posted declines in domestic sales and increases in exports in the first six months of 2008, attributing the falls to surging oil prices and stronger exports to rising demand in other Asian nations, mainly China.
Toyota Motor Corp and its subsidiaries, Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd, saw a 1.7-per-cent drop in sales in Japan in the January-June period to 1.18 million units, compared with the same period last year.
The company's exports, however, grew 3.6 per cent to 1.47 million units.
Its global production rose 5.8 per cent to 4.98 million units.