Most Japanese automakers' business in China recovered from last year's disastrous sales drop with reporting high double-digit sales surges in September.

Honda Motor Co led the boom with a more than doubled year-on-year sales increase last month. The Japanese automaker sold 73,990 vehicles in China, surging 118.1 percent on an annual basis, after it reported 2.5 percent and 1.7 percent sales dips in August and July, respectively.

The unexpected high delivery number ended its continuous sales drop from last September and led to its total sales in the first nine months of the year increasing by 5.8 percent over last year.

Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Co said in September it delivered 72,100 vehicles to Chinese customers, a boost of 63 percent from a year earlier.

Toyota experienced its biggest sales decline - 48.9 percent since January 2008 - in September 2012, making its whole year sales fall by 4.9 percent in the world's largest automobile market.

Nissan Motor Co saw its sales in China increase by 83.4 percent year-on-year to 117,100 vehicles last month.

Mazda Motor Corp's sales increase of 34.4 percent in September ended its continuous drop over 17 months in China, although its overall sales in the first three quarters still represented a 15.8 percent sales decline.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that the combined sales of Japanese vehicles in China in September 2012 declined sharply as rising anger over Japan's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea in the month deterred Chinese customers from visiting their showrooms.

Their sales, in total, dived 29.49 percent from August and 40.82 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts said that the high sales growth last month should be attributed to the low sales base in September 2012, although the relationship between the top two economies in Asia remains strained over the Diaoyu Islands dispute.

However, Japanese automakers' highly visible efforts in showing off their new models at the Chengdu auto show in September partly supported the monthly sales boost, they said.

(China Daily USA 10/09/2013 page16)