Toyota Motor Corp.'s Aqua hybrid was the best-selling car in the nation in May, holding the top spot for the second month in a row, industry bodies said Thursday.
The Aqua logged an 18.9 percent jump in sales from the previous year to 14,428 vehicles, suggesting that the impact of the April 2014 consumption tax hike has petered out.
In the meantime, minivehicles, defined as cars with engines no larger than 660cc, occupied seven of the slots in the top 10 list, according to sales data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.
But the tax hike on minivehicles this April continued to drag down demand, resulting in sluggish sales.
Honda Motor Co.'s N-Box ranked second, with sales up 0.8 percent to 10,398 units. Nissan Motor Co.'s Dayz came in third as sales plunged 23.8 percent to 9,452 vehicles. Toyota's Corolla and Prius hybrid ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.