In Depth: Japanese, German Carmakers Lose Ground in China After Falling Behind on EVs

January turned out to be a bad month for Japanese car sales in China.

For Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Japan’s third-largest automaker, sales in China plunged 64.4% year-on-year. Japan’s No. 2 automaker, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., did slightly better in the month, with its sales in China falling 56.2% from the previous year.