Nissan Model Tops Jan.-June Rankings for 1st Time in 48 Yrs

July 6, 2018

Tokyo- Nissan Motor Co.'s Note subcompact topped the list of best-selling cars in Japan in the first half of 2018, excluding minivehicles, becoming the first model of the company to rank first for January-June in 48 years, industry data showed Thursday.

Previously, the automaker's Sunny topped the first-half rankings in 1970.

Sales of the Note totaled 73,380 units in January-June this year although the figure was down 12.9 pct from a year earlier, according to the data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

In the first half of 2017, the Note ranked second, with sales of 84,211 units, after Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid, which posted sales of 91,246 units.

But the flagship Toyota model fell to third place in the 2018 first half, with sales of 64,019 units, down 29.8 pct, helping the Note seize the top spot.

A hybrid version of the Note has been popular although the total sales of the model slumped, industry sources said.

Coming second in January-June 2018 was Toyota's Aqua subcompact hybrid, with sales of 66,144 units. Jiji Press