Japan April 2011: Quake brings market down to lowest level

Honda Fit

Bad news keep coming from Japan. As predicted, the new car market plunged even further in April, down 51% year-on-year to 108,824 units, the lowest monthly volume since records started in January 1968. Toyota is hit hardest at -69%. More details here.

The models ranking is surprisingly stable amidst this chaos, with the Honda Fit reinforcing its leadership at 8,574 sales, down ‘only’ 30%, well ahead of the Toyota Prius at 4,876 units (-82%) and the Toyota Vitz at 4,644 (-49%). The Honda Freed (-38%) and Toyota Corolla (-57%) follow and are both up one spot.

Mitsubishi Delica D2

Only 4 models in the Top 30 are up year-on-year: the new gen Nissan March (+3%) and 3 Subarus: the Impreza (+13%), Legacy (+8%) and Forester (+38%). The Mitsubishi Delica D2, launched in February, breaks into the Top 30 for the first time at #27, and the Lexus CT200h is up to a best-ever 21st position.

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.