Sales of new imported vehicles, including those produced at Japanese automakers' overseas plants, increased 11.7 percent from a year earlier to 97,282 vehicles in the first half of this year, an industry body said Tuesday.

It was the first rise in the January-June period in four years.

The increase is partly due to the popularity of small imported vehicles that are subject to tax breaks and subsidies, an official of the Japan Automobile Importers Association said.

By brand, Volkswagen topped the ranking with sales of 24,862 vehicles, up 32.5 percent. Mercedes-Benz ranked second with 15,556 sales, up 13.2 percent, followed by BMW at 14,184, up 6.5 percent.