Japanese Automakers’ U.S. Production Soars 36% as Yen Plummets

Japanese automakers, rebounding from an earthquake and aided by a weakening yen, cranked up U.S. vehicle production by 36 percent last year while boosting imports from Japan by 19 percent.

Japanese automakers built 3.3 million cars and trucks in the U.S. last year, up from 2.4 million in 2011, according to new data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, a Tokyo-based trade group representing that country’s major carmakers. That was the most since 2007, when Japanese automakers produced 3.5 million vehicles in the U.S., JAMA said.