TOKYO: Three of Japan’s biggest carmakers said last week that output in China slumped again last month as they continue to feel the effects of a bitter territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.

Toyota, the world’s best-selling carmaker in the first six months of the year, produced 61-percent fewer cars in China year-on-year in October, it said, while Nissan cut output by 44 percent, and Honda by 54 percent. The figures follow earlier data showing all three companies had seen large falls in sales in China as a consumer boycott of Brand Japan lashed two-way trade.

Toyota made just 30,600 vehicles over the month, Honda produced 26,302 and Nissan 61,360.

However, the trio were likely to return to pre-spat production levels by mid- to late-2013, said Ryoichi Saito, auto analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

“I don’t think the figures that came out today renewed or added more pessimism—they came out within expectations and fell dramatically,” Saito said. “It is not impossible that we will return to the levels seen a year ago in the second half of 2013.”