Domestic vehicle output rose for a third consecutive month in November, logging a 10.2 percent rise to 846,151 units from the previous year, an industry body said Friday.
Car production climbed 10.3 percent to 719,133 units and truck output 11.4 percent to 116,365 units. Bus output, however, sagged 9.9 percent to 10,653 units, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
A JAMA official credited the output rise in part to new models and the Tokyo Motor Show, which stoked consumer interest.
Vehicle exports in the month rose 8.5 percent to 415,997 units, up for the fourth month straight, on robust demand in North America and Asia. Cars climbed 10.2 percent to 364,907 units and buses 4.4 percent to 11,983 units, with truck exports sinking 3.9 percent to 39,107 units.
Mercedes nips Lexus
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus luxury car division is set to mark record high sales in Japan in 2013 for the third year in a row, but it trails behind the Mercedes-Benz unit of Germany's Daimler AG.
Dealers sold 43,358 Lexus cars in the January-November period, up 6.6 percent from the same period last year, on the back of a recovering economy and brisk demand for the restyled IS sedan.
The figure indicates it will likely surpass the division's 2012 sales of 43,657 units.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars jumped 31.6 percent in the first 11 months to 47,483 units, lifted in part by lower-priced models in the ¥2 million range.
Toyota is expecting to log worldwide Lexus sales of 520,000 units this year.