For the past two years, Toyota has had the best selling car in Japan, which was the Prius and the Corolla. Now in 2013, this market domination has changed with Honda cornering the market with their new Jazz (called the ‘Fit’in Japan).
For the second consecutive month, the Honda Jazz has been the most popular and talked about car by Japanese customers. November figures showed 26,235 examples were sold .This not only tops October’s record of 23,281 Jazzs, but also means the car is extending its lead over the Prius.
The new Jazz has the best fuel efficiency rating according to the J08 cycle, thanks to a new hybrid drive system. However, Toyota has made updates to their Aqua hybrid for 2014 which might increase customer demand in the next few months. However, data has shown Japanese buyers are attracted to the Jazz more because of design, sportiness and its LED headlights.
However, Honda as a car manufacturer is still a small producer by overall volume because the top 10 list in Japan shows no less than 5 Toyota models: Prius, Aqua, Corolla, Vitz and Crown.
It’s much the same story in the Japanese kei car market, where vehicles have to be a maximum of 3.5m and powered by 660cc engines. Honda has the best seller, the ‘N Box’, but Daihatsu has three models bringing a lot more overall volume.
