Japan April 2013: Toyota Prius back on top

Toyota Prius

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The Japanese new car market (ex-Kei cars) is back into positive territory in April, up 2% year-on-year to 213,165 registrations however this is solely due to the exceptional strength of imports, up 35% this month. Year-to-date, the total stands at 1,155,020 units, down 11% on 2012. Big event atop the Japanese models ranking: after 6 consecutive months of Toyota Aqua domination, the Toyota Prius is back in charge thanks to 18,417 sales vs. 17,182 for the Aqua which however remains #1 year-to-date by far (for now) at 97,867 units vs. 92,140 for the Prius.

Toyota Crown

The Nissan Note continues to amaze: it is stuck in third place for the 8th month in a row with 9,415 sales, ahead of the Honda Fit down a worrying 43% on April 2012. The Toyota Crown is at its best in years, up 2 spots on March to a fantastic 5th place at 8,181 units, the Subaru Impreza is back in the Top 10 at #10 while the Subaru Forester is back up 7 spots to #13 and the Mazda Atenza (aka Mazda6) is back within the Top 30 at #28.

Previous month: Japan March 2013: Toyota Aqua and Nissan Note hit highest volume

One year ago: Japan April 2012: Toyota Aqua, Vellfire, Alphard and 86 all impress

Full April 2013 Top 30 Ranking Table below.