Honda N-Box top-selling car in Japan in 2017

January 11, 2018

Tokyo- Honda Motor Co.'s N-Box mini-vehicle came first in new car sales rankings in Japan in 2017, capturing the annual top slot for the first time, industry data showed Thursday.

The N-Box, whose sales totaled 218,478 units, climbed from the second position in the previous year's rankings. Its new model, featuring cutting-edge safety gears, was released in autumn last year.

This is the first time for any Honda model to take the top ranking since 2002, when the automaker's Fit subcompact was the best-selling car.

In the 2017 rankings, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid came second, with sales of 160,912 units, followed by Daihatsu Motor Co.'s Move mini-vehicle, with 141,373 units.

Six of the top 10 models were mini-vehicles, which have engine displacements of up to 660 cc.

Among models of Nissan Motor Co., the Note subcompact ranked fifth, with sales of 138,905 units, and the Dayz mini-vehicle came sixth, with 137,514 units.

Although sales of Nissan cars slumped in October-December 2017, after the company's inspection irregularities came to light in late September that year, the two models managed to make it into the top 10 in the annual chart thanks to their brisk sales in the first three quarters.

In December alone, the N-Box was the top-selling car for the fourth straight month, with sales of 18,458 units.

The sales rankings were based on data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. Jiji Press