Prius cracks Top Ten Sales List in Japan

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/n...-9e32d306-04561

Toyota's hybrid car Prius ranks as 10th best-selling model in Japan in May

Friday, June 4, 2004 4:22:15 AM

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Toyota's hybrid car Prius ranked the 10th best-selling car in Japan last month for the first time, according to figures from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA). The data also showed that Toyota Motor Corp made six of the 10 top-selling cars in Japan last month, with Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Honda Motor Co Ltd making the rest of the 10 top-selling cars, the second straight month that the three automakers took up all the slots

Toyota Corolla kept the top spot for the fourth straight month, with sales of 14,275 vehicles in May, JADA figures showed

Toyota also made the third best-selling model, the Wish minivan, with sales of 9,032, and the fourth best-selling model, the Crown, with sales of 8,897

The 10th spot went to Toyota's Prius hybrid car, with sales of 5,806, making it the first hybrid model to rank in the best 10

"The model change in September and preferential taxation on hybrid cars, as well as growing awareness among consumers toward environmental problem, contributed to the boost in sales of Prius," said Takayuki Kato, an official who is in charge of statistics at JADA. Toyota also made the seventh and eighth best sellers. Honda, Japan's third-largest automaker, made two of the 10 top-selling models. Honda's Fit ranked second, with sales of 9,642 vehicles last month. Its Odyssey placed ninth last month, with sales of 5,944 units

Nissan, Japan's second largest automaker, also made two of the 10 top-selling models, with its Cube ranked fifth with sales of 8,444 vehicles last month

Rank Model Maker Sales 1 Corolla Toyota 14,275 2 Fit Honda 9,642 3 Wish Toyota 9,032 4 Crown Toyota 8,897 5 Cube Nissan 8,444 6 March Nissan 6,919 7 ist Toyota 6,702 8 Alphard Toyota 6,062 9 Odyssey Honda 5,944 10 Prius Toyota 5,806 [email protected] kh/mas For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com

 

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[Broken External Image]:http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All_toyota_lineup/ist/image/menu/top_photo.jpg

 

BTW, the FIT is coming to America

http://www.autoweek.com/search/search_disp...161024&record=1

http://tinyurl.com/2eps6


(08:44 May 17, 2004)

Honda will add small car, another Acura truck to U.S. lineup


By KATHY JACKSON | Automotive News

[Broken External Image]:http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0524/jazzmain.jpg

The five-door Jazz, sold in Europe, is one of two Honda Fit variants.

LOS ANGELES -- American Honda Motor Co. Inc. will add a small car to the Honda lineup next year and give Acura a second light truck sometime in the next two years, Executive Vice President Thomas Elliott disclosed last week.

Conceding a need for Honda to lure younger buyers, Elliott said the new car will be "a true entry-level car, cheaper than the Civic."

He declined to elaborate.

Jeff Schuster, director of product analysis for J.D. Power & Associates, said the Honda Fit is on his company's latest forecast for sale in the United States. "I have it coming in mid to late '05," he said.

The front-drive subcompact Honda Fit is sold in Japan as a four-door sedan, the Aria, and in Europe as the five-door Jazz. It is powered by gasoline engines ranging from 1.2 liters to 1.5 liters. The car is smaller than the Civic.

A dealer source said last week that Honda executives had told him the U.S. car will be a version of the Fit.

"It will be a car for young people in about the $12,000 range," said the source. "Young people will be able to accessorize it like the (Toyota) Scion."

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., which is rolling out its Scion youth brand nationwide this year, says Scion buyers typically add more than $1,000 worth of factory-authorized accessories to their vehicles at the dealership.

Elliott would not give any details about the new Acura truck, but said it will be smaller than the MDX and probably would not be built in the United States.

"Our percentage of truck sales is not where the market is," Elliott said. "If you want to compete, you must be comparable to the market."

Trucks represented 53.7 percent of total U.S. vehicle sales through April 30, but only 38.9 percent of American Honda's sales, which were about flat through the first four months of the year.