To the surprise of… well, nobody really… the Toyota Prius was once again the top-selling car in Japan in June marking the second month in a row the vehicle has topped the sales charts in its native country.
The Prius sold 22,292 units over the month – that’s 3.58 times the number it sold in June 2008 at 6,231 units – according to data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
The hybrid green car leader first became the country’s top seller in May with sales of 10,915 units, more than twice its year-on-year sales of 5,079 units in May 2008.
It wasn’t the only green car to enjoy success in Japan, however. Honda’s Hybrid Insight finished fourth in the charts with 8,782 units, falling just behind the Honda Fit and the Toyota Vitz. In April, the Insight was the top selling car in Japan making it the first hybrid car to top the charts, with 10,481 units sold. In May however, it dropped to third place behind the Prius and the Fit.
Over the last two months both cars have enjoyed more success on home soil than in the USA. In June, Prius sales were 71.5 per cent higher than in the US. The Honda Insight meanwhile has been consistently out-selling its counterpart in the US with 8,782 units sold compared to 2,709 units sold in the US.
