Japan May 2012: Toyota Aqua only 600 sales below the Prius

Toyota Aqua

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

New car sales in Japan are up a massive 66% year-on-year in May to 236,366 registrations, the combined effect of government subsidies on environmentally friendly cars and a low May 2011 based linked to the after-effects of the tsunami. The year-to-date total stands at 1,539,782 units, up 59% on 2011. The fight for the pole position is getting extremely tight: the Toyota Prius leads for the 12th consecutive month with 20,789 sales, up 220% year-on-year but only 599 units ahead of the Toyota Aqua at 20,091 units.

Mazda CX-5

In fact, the only reason why the Aqua did not grab the top spot this month is because Toyota cannot keep up with demand for the new model! The next few months will be fascinating to follow. The rest of the Top 6 is unchanged compared to April: the Honda Fit rounds up the podium at +55%, ahead of the Honda Freed (+77%), Toyota Vitz (-1%) and Nissan Serena (+22%).

Toyota 86

Other great performers include the Honda StepWGN up 5 spots to #7, the Toyota Vellfire up 317% to #9 and Alphard up 433% to #11. Further down, a couple of recently launched models continue to shine: the Mazda CX-5 enjoys its 5th month in the Top 30, up one spot to a best-ever 18th place with 2,890 units while the Toyota 86 ranks #22 with 2,432 sales.

Previous month: Japan April 2012: Toyota Aqua, Vellfire, Alphard and 86 all impress

One year ago: Japan May 2011: Lowest monthly figure since 1968

Full May 2012 Top 30 Ranking Table below.