Toyota Motor Corp.'s Aqua hybrid repeated as the nation's top-selling car in fiscal 2014, retaining its No. 1 ranking for the third consecutive year, industry bodies said Monday.
There were 228,375 Aquas sold in the year ended last Tuesday, down 12.1 percent from fiscal 2013.
Daihatsu Motor Co.'s Tanto minicar came in second, selling 214,865 units, up 19.0 percent, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.
The Tanto was the top-selling car in calendar 2014, but the Aqua overtook it in the quarter ended in March after Toyota revamped parts of the hybrid vehicle, which was released in December 2011.
Reflecting the popularity of fuel-efficient compact cars and minivehicles, Honda Motor Co.'s N-Box minicar came in third with sales of 188,922 units, down 16.4 percent. Minivehicles, which have engines no larger than 660cc, accounted for seven of the 10 best-selling cars in fiscal 2014.
Sales of seven of the top 10 vehicles, meanwhile, fell from a year earlier, as last April's 3-point consumption tax hike to 8 percent significantly dented demand for big-ticket items.
In March alone, sales of Honda's N-box rose 15.0 percent from a year before to 30,633 units, becoming the best-selling car, followed by Aqua, which sold 30,414 units, down 2.4 percent.
With demand growing for less-expensive cars with superior fuel efficiency, minicars account for around 40 percent of the new cars sold in Japan.
But the tax rate on minivehicles was raised this month, which could have an impact on sales going forward.