Japanese origins are shunned in the used car market in Korea amid widening consumer movement against Japanese products in Korea due to deepening animosity between the two neighboring countries.

According to online used car auction platform Heydealer on Tuesday, deals of purchasing Japanese used cars including Lexus ES 300h, Infiniti Q50, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima plunged 57 percent from June 1 to August 15. The average number of dealers who joined a bid for one unit of Japanese used car decreased from 8.9 in June and 6.6 in July to 3.8 in August, falling even below the lowest record of 4.8 for BMW 520d when the car’s demand had plummeted after a series of fires last year.

A survey on 1,444 members of Heydealer in July found that 90.3 percent of the second-hand car dealers were reluctant to purchase Japanese brands due to the strong boycott. As for alternatives, 67 percent of the respondents said they would buy German brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen instead of Japanese cars, 52 percent chose local brands, 12 percent American vehicles, based on multiple responses.

On the other hand, the number of Japanese vehicles put on sale on the platform surged from June to August 15. The number of Infinity Q50 cars registered on the site for sale jumped 127 percent over the period, with Toyota Camry up 65 percent and Nissan Altima 49 percent, according to Heydealer.

By Lee Jong-hyuk and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]