Nissan's passenger car sales nearly halved in Japan last month, data released on Friday showed, following a 55-percent drop the previous month as it struggle with a damaging inspection scandal.

In November, sales of Nissan-brand passenger cars stood at 16,888, down 46.8 percent from a year earlier, Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.

The dramatic fall in Nissan-brand cars compares with a more modest decline of just 5.5 percentage points in overall sales in the Japanese market in November.

Nissan recalled some 1.2 million vehicles after admitting in October that staff without proper authorisation had conducted final inspections on some vehicles intended for the domestic market before they were shipped to dealers.