THE HAGUE, 21/04/07 - Japanese cars are staging a comeback in the Netherlands. German car sales were still highest last year, the Auto and Mobility Core Figures 2007 published Friday by sector organisations BOVAG en RAI show.

German makes had a 37.5 percent share in new car sales last year, slightly up from 2005. Second came French cars with 21.2 percent.

Japanese cars boosted their market share to 17.8 percent. In 2001, only 14.8 percent of all new cars sold were of Japanese origin. Korean makes had a share of 8.9 percent, almost double the 2002 figure.

Remarkable is the switch in sales by fuel. For the first time, a clear decline is seen in the share of petrol-fuelled cars. The market share of diesel, LPG and alternative fuels rose in 2006.

As to car types, the five-door hatchback was by far the favourite among the Dutch with a share of over 32 percent. Demand for the three-door hatchback has dropped to 14.8 percent from 27.2 percent in 2000. The four-door sedan is also out of favour, with its market share shrinking to 8.6 percent from 15 percent in 2001. The share of station-wagons (17.6 percent) and MPVs (16.7 percent) has remained about stable.

The Dutch fleet grew 2 percent in 2006 to 7.4 million private cars for a population of 16.3 million. The whole survey is on www.raivereniging.nl.