TOKYO, JAPAN - Sales of new cars in Japan are likely to skid to a 34-year low in 2008 as the economic slump takes its toll on consumer spending, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Japan slid into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter as exports crumbled, and with industrial production and household spending also in decline, economists are warning of a longer and deeper downturn.

November sales of new automobiles excluding 660 cc mini vehicles are expected to drop by about a third from a year earlier, the Nikkei reported, without citing any sources.

Even if December sales match the year-earlier level, sales for the year are likely to total around 3.25 million units, the lowest since 1974, the paper said.

Sales of large models and imports in particular have fallen sharply, as wealthier consumers tighten their purse strings due to this year's plunge in stock markets, the report said.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)