The Honda Fit knocked the Toyota Corolla off the top spot in Japan in 2002, while the Toyota Camry was the best-selling car in the US last year.
The Honda Fit knocked the Toyota Corolla off the top spot in Japan in 2002, while the Toyota Camry was the best-selling car in the US last year.
reports that for the first time in 34 years, the Corolla was not the best-selling car in Japan. It was also the first time a Honda model took the top position.
According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, Honda sold 250 790 Fits last year, while Toyota sold 226 222 Corollas. Nissan March was in third spot with 139 332 units, followed by the Toyota ist with 103 579 units and Toyota’s Vitz with 100 801 units.
“We are happy that our Fit has received support from so many motorists,” said Honda spokeswoman Yuriko Yabe.
A Toyota spokesman said the manufacturer was disappointed to lose the top spot, but it still had six cars in the top 10.
“As regards the domestic sales of Corolla, we are disappointed and will do our best to strengthen our sales and production forces,” said Toyota spokesman Shinya Matsumoto. “But our domestic sales agents tell us to look at the number of cars in the top 10. In the end, we hope that the overall domestic car market will expand.”
In the United States, the Toyota Camry regained the top position from the Honda Accord. It is the fifth time in the past six years that the Camry has been top. It lost out last year to the Accord.
The Camry was redesigned in 2002, which helped sell 434 145 units, an increase of 11 per cent over 2001.
“While it’s really nice, it’s not our No 1 priority,” said Toyota spokesman Sam Butto said. “Our priority is to sell every one that we make. If we do that and have the best-selling car, that’s fine.”
Accord sales dropped by four per cent last year from 2001 to 398 980, while the Ford Taurus was in third place.
Ford’s F-Series was the top-selling truck, while the manufacturer’s Explorer was the number one sport-utility vehicle.