Japan's domestic sales of cars, trucks and buses fell by a record amount in April, hit by the aftermath of the country's earthquake and tsunami.

With production halted and supply chains broken, sales last month were 51% lower than a year earlier, said the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, BBC reports.

It said sales would continue to be subdued in the months ahead because of a continuing shortage of parts.

April's decline followed a 37% fall in vehicle sales in March.

The Japan Automobile Dealers Association (Jada) said domestic sales in April totaled 108,824.

Sales of Toyota brand plunged 68.7 percent to 35,557 units. Sales of Nissan Motor dipped by 37.2 percent to 17,413 and that of Honda Motor dropped 48.5 percent.

The 51% fall from a year earlier was the biggest decline since records began in 1968. The all-time record fall was 45%, which was recorded in May 1974 during the global oil price crisis.