Honda Fit races to No. 1 in November sales figures

Honda Motor Co.'s Fit subcompact beat Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla to become the best-seller in Japan in November for the first time in 14 months, an industry body said Thursday.

The Fit rose from third place in October as sales jumped 146.8 percent from a year earlier to 18,138 units in November, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.

The remodeled version attracted consumers with its excellent fuel efficiency, improved performance and minimal price increase, winning the Japan Car of the Year 2007 award.

The Toyota Corolla fell to second place as sales fell 10.4 percent to 15,348 units. The Toyota Vitz dropped to third place from second, although sales rose 28.8 percent to 12,716 units.

Toyota accounted for eight of the 10 best-sellers among automobiles other than minivehicles in November.

Another non-Toyota vehicle among the top 10 was Nissan Motor Co.'s Serena minivan, which climbed the ladder to eighth place from 11th.

Sales of imported vehicles climbed 6.2 percent in November from a year before to 21,745 units, rising for the seventh consecutive month, with sluggish sales of foreign models more than offset by brisk sales of Japanese vehicles manufactured abroad and shipped back home.

Sales of imported vehicles excluding Japanese brands slid 3.0 percent to 18,705 units, dipping for the first time in three months, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday.

Imports of Japanese brands rose 155.0 percent to 3,040 units as manufacturers rolled out new models.

Between January and November, total import sales came to 237,978 vehicles, up 1.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

In November, Volkswagen maintained its market lead with sales of 4,774 vehicles, up 7.8 percent.

BMW ranked second with sales of 3,858 vehicles, down 5.5 percent.