Honda Insight Tops Japanese Sales Figures

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Such as they are. Japanese sales are set to fall below 5 million in 2009 for the first time in nearly thirty years. But even with Japan’s sales slump particularly affecting standard-sized cars, Honda moved 10,481 units of its new hybrid on the Japanese market last month. That makes it the best selling car in Japan just as Toyota brings its third-generation Prius to market. A hybrid as the best selling car? Government subsidies sure help! And with consumers in Japan clearly value-shopping their hybrids (Honda’s Insight is several thousand dollars cheaper than Prius), is it any suprise that we’ve heard rumblings of a Yaris-based hybrid? Meanwhile, German cars top Japan’s import brand sales. VW, BMW and Mercedes took the top three spots but sold fewer cars combined than the Insight.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Michael Karesh Michael Karesh on May 11, 2009

    Noisy, cramped, and slow about sums it up. My Take Two is in the bin here somewhere...

  • WhatTheHel WhatTheHel on May 11, 2009

    I've whined about this before: If Honda wants to hump the Fit platform then please, for piss sake... lose 2 doors, shorten the length, lower the roofline, add 30 or 40 horses and bring back the cheap fun. Remember that, Honda? Fun & cheap? Some of us don't give a shit about your hybrid system and are scared to death with what to expect out of the ass-ugly CR-Z.

  • V6 V6 on May 12, 2009

    it's just such a unattractive car, bordering on Echo & Tiida/Versa sedan levels of beastliness

  • Ohsnapback Ohsnapback on May 12, 2009

    I checked this out on Sunday at a local dealer, who had about a dozen on the lot. I was completely and utterly shocked at how cheap looking, feeling and dull this car is. The Prius seems like a Formula 1 car next to it. The door handles felt like 1983, the cloth fabric was abysmal, the plastics and dash materials were industrial grade, and it had an overall toy-ish quality I've not seen in any new vehicle in quite some time.

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