Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. saw domestic sales rise in July, while sales for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. fell, according to data released by the companies Monday.
Industry leader Toyota reported a 2.8 percent rise in domestic sales from a year earlier to 166,538 units, marking the first increase in three months.
Honda reported a 19.9 percent rise to 77,567 units, the 20th consecutive month it has posted increased sales over the same period a year earlier. Sales were led by its new Fit subcompact vehicle, followed by the Step WGN and the Life mini vehicle, it said.
Nissan reported a 7.8 percent increase in sales to 72,518 units, up for the eighth consecutive month. Strong demand for its new Skyline model, which was launched in June, and the Liberty, which was updated in May, contributed to the rise.
Mitsubishi reported a 17.1 percent drop in sales to 44,159 units and Mazda was down 10.9 percent to 24,188 units.
Monthly output figures show Toyota manufactured 307,477 vehicles in Japan during July, up 3.7 percent, followed by Honda with 117,400 vehicles, up 11.9 percent.
Nissan manufactured 115,393 vehicles, down 6.9 percent, Mitsubishi 71,243 vehicles, down 22.8 percent, and Mazda 66,848 vehicles, up 2.4 percent.
Exports were mostly lower compared to a year earlier. Toyota's exports fell 5.2 percent to 140,060 units, Nissan dropped 17.4 percent to 49,693 units, and Honda was down 2.5 percent to 40,315 vehicles. Mitsubishi exported 36,801 vehicles, down 44.2 percent while Mazda's exports rose 19.7 percent to 44,856.