Honda Fit was top-selling car in Japan in Jan., beats Toyota Prius

February 9, 2011June 8, 2011 Omar Rana Compact Cars, Fit, Green News, Honda Fit, Hybrids, Green News, Prius, Toyota Prius

It’s been two years but the Honda Fit overtook the Toyota Prius hybrid as Japan’s top-selling car in January.

Honda sold a total of 14,873 units of the Fit in January 2011, an increase of 14 percent. Half of those units were of the new Honda Fit Hybrid. Toyota, on the other hand, sold a total of 13,711 units of the Prius, a 38 percent decline.

Prius sales have been hurting due to the end of government subsidies for green cars, which helped the Prius hold the top-spot in Japan for 20 straight months. Nonetheless, the Toyota Prius remains the world’s top-selling hybrid.

“It’s better to be No. 1,” said Honda President Takanobu Ito. “My priority is that all our models record solid sales.”

Refresher: The Honda Fit Hybrid gets its power from the same 1.3L i-VTEC gasoline engine mated to the company”s IMA system and a CVT gearbox that is found in the Insight and the CR-Z. Like the Insight, the Fit Hybrid will be capable of driving on the electric motor alone under some medium and low speed conditions. Fuel-economy come in at 64.2 mpg (52 mpg in U.S. terms).