Top 30 cars sold in Japan for 2014, ALL 30 are from home grown brands.

In 2014, the Toyota Aqua was again the top-selling car model in Japan. The Honda Fit took second place from the Prius with the evergreen Corolla fourth. The Japanese car market expanded by 3.5% to just over 5.5 million new vehicle registrations in 2014.

Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2014 (Full Year)

The 30 top-selling car models in Japan in 2014 according to new passenger vehicle registration statistics released by JADA were:

Rank 2013	Rank 2014	Model	Brand	2014 Sales	% Change
1	1	Aqua	Toyota	233,209	-11.1
3	2	Fit	Honda	202,838	11.8
2	3	Prius	Toyota	183,614	-27.6
5	4	Corolla	Toyota	114,331	12.5
16	5	Voxy	Toyota	109,174	160.4
4	6	Note	Nissan	106,765	-27.3
	7	Vezel	Honda	96,029	4,351.10
7	8	Vitz	Toyota	89,496	4.2
6	9	Serena	Nissan	76,909	-20.2
22	10	Noah	Toyota	69,605	115.5
	11	Harrier	Toyota	64,920	3,363.70
9	12	Freed	Honda	54,313	-20.6
25	13	X-TRAIL	Nissan	53,736	90.6
15	14	Passo	Toyota	49,770	16.3
8	15	Crown	Toyota	49,166	-40.5
14	16	Demio	Mazda	48,564	11.5
11	17	Impreza	Subaru	45,841	-21.3
10	18	Step WGN	Honda	42,743	-31.3
	19	Axela	Mazda	42,527	136.4
17	20	Swift	Suzuki	39,382	-3.8
13	21	Supeido	Toyota	38,733	-20.3
12	22	VELLFIRE	Toyota	36,734	-27.4
24	23	Solio	Suzuki	32,857	8.5
	24	Odyssey	Honda	32,749	120.9
	25	Levorg	Subaru	30,258	New
18	26	CX-5	Mazda	29,466	-23.5
23	27	Porte	Toyota	26,648	-15.8
19	20	Forrester	Subaru	25,921	-24.3
21	29	Alphard	Toyota	25,863	-23.4
20	30	Estima	Toyota	25,688	-26.4

The list does not include Kei minicars, which are hugely popular in Japan.

Top-Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2014

Japanese car buyers are notoriously fickle with the launching of new models (and the aging of old ones) having a strong influence in the number of cars sold. Wide swings are often the norm when a new model is imminent.

However, at the top, the same three models have been the best-selling cars for several years now. In 2014, for the second consecutive year, the Toyota Aqua was Japan’s favorite car model. Sales of the Aqua (Prius C in some overseas markets) contracted by 11%. The first minor updates of the model, which has been on sale since early 2012, were made only at the end of 2014.

The Honda Fit (Jazz in some overseas markets) was the only model amongst the top three to have increased sales in Japan in 2014. The third generation of the Fit was launched in Japan in September 2013.

Sales of the Toyota Prius were down by more than a quarter in Japan in 2014. The current Prius was launched in 2009 – in 2010, it was the most-sold car ever in Japanese history when it sold 315,000 cars in a single calendar year.

The evergreen Toyota Corolla moved up from fifth to fourth while the Nissan Note lost a quarter of sales and slipped from fourth to sixth.

The most-improved car models were the Toyota Voxy and its sister model Noah. These eight-seater minivans have been enormously popular in Japan and the new models allowed the Voxy to improve from 16th to 5th and Noah from 22nd to 10th.

The Honda Vezel (HR-V in some international markets) is a small SUV crossover. Although very well received, the increase in sales reflects that the car was launched towards the end of 2013.

The Toyota Vitz (Yaris in overseas markets) slipped one place despite stronger sales while the Nissan Serena slipped three places with sales down by a fifth.

A few further salient features from the top-selling car models in Japan in 2014:

• The cars slipping out of the top-10 list of best-selling car models in Japan in 2014 were the Toyota Crown (from 8th), Honda Freed (9 th) and Honda Step WGN (10th).
• The Toyota Crown was the worst performer. The Crown is very popular with chauffeurs and taxi drivers in Japan and got a huge boost at the beginning of 2013 when a new model was launched.
• The Toyota Harrier is a large SUV similar to the Lexus RX – its 10th place is remarkably high for a large car not particularly needed on Japan’s carpet smooth roads.

The top-selling car brand in Japan in 2014 was again Toyota – partly confirmed by having 6 of the top 10 most-popular car models.

Honda has a fit, as its Fit model gets recalled again, for the fifth time.

Honda Motor Co., announcing its fifth Fit recall in just 12 months, has taken the unprecedented step of appointing its first quality czar to clamp down on the carmaker’s problems. The company’s top executives will also take pay cuts for three months to take responsibility for the recall-plagued car, which was recalled Oct. 23 for a fifth time since its 2013 debut.

Honda said the latest recall was over two noise-related defects in the Fit and Vezel hybrids as well as some gasoline-engine Fit and N-WGN models. The automaker will also recall 183 cars overseas for the same glitch. The recall did not involve Fits in the U.S.

The company also said it is reviewing quality processes worldwide, in a sweep that may delay product launches, including that of the HR-V compact crossover to be built at Honda’s new pant in Mexico.

President Takanobu Ito, who will take a 20 percent pay cut for the three-month period, appointed Koichi Fukuo as the company’s newly christened executive in charge of quality reform.

The changes come as Honda grapples with spiraling problems that have bruised its once sterling reputation for quality.

Product delays?

The latest recall of the redesigned Fit, mostly in Japan, have been compounded by millions of recalls of older vehicles to fix faulty airbags.

It piles additional troubles on the Fit hatchback, which had this year’s U.S. launch delayed by a slow startup of production at Honda’s new assembly plant in Celaya, Mexico.

Mexican production of the compact crossover HR-V variant has also been pushed back. Honda won’t launch that vehicle until its quality can be assured, Honda spokeswoman Yuka Abe said.

“We are doing very strict check of quality worldwide, and that is why we are taking time to launch models,” she said. “At each plant worldwide, we will do more detailed checks.”

The HR-V is now scheduled to launch this winter and, she said, Honda hasn’t announced whether that constitutes a delay. Suppliers say the launch had been planned for this year.

She said: “The HR-V launches this winter and before it is launched, we want to do strict quality checks.”

Fukuo will also become vice president of Honda R&D Co., the automaker’s semi-independent development arm. That post has been vacant since April. The changes take effect Nov. 1.

“There will be an executive assigned to a position to supervise the entire process, from r&d to market launch,” Honda said in a statement. “This experienced executive will inject his knowledge in a cross-functional manner and thoroughly evaluate technologies at the timing of each evaluation opportunity.”

Fukuo will keep his role at Honda Motor Co. overseeing large vehicle development, including the Acura division, and advanced drivetrain projects such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

New recall

Honda said Oct. 23 it is recalling 426,076 Fits and other vehicles worldwide to fix two components, the ignition coil and power control unit, which can malfunction due to electrical interference. In a worse case, the glitches can cause the engine to shut down. Honda said it has no reports of injuries.

The recall affects gasoline and hybrid Fits, as well as hybrid versions of the Fit-based HR-V crossover, which is sold as the Vezel in Japan. It also covers the N-WGN minicar sold in Japan.

Only 251 vehicles are being recalled overseas -- in New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and select Latin American markets.

All of the vehicles were made in Japan.

While the recall covers both gasoline and hybrid Fits, it does not cover Fits sold in the United States for two reasons. The hybrid versions are not sold in the United States, and the gasoline version sold there has a 1.5-liter engine, not the 1.3-liter power plant that is being called back.

The action marks and embarrassing fifth fix for the third-generation Fit, which was introduced last year and pioneered a new multi-region product development strategy meant to cut costs and boost r&d efficiencies. The hybrid version also sports the company’s new one-motor, dual-clutch-transmission system.

The earlier recalls -- all to fix problems only with the hybrid version’s drivetrain -- prompted Honda to overhaul its r&d process for all cars worldwide to better intercept problems.

Mounting problems

The recalls of a nameplate Ito has positioned as Honda’s “most important model” and a pillar of his ambitious mid-term growth plan comes as the Japanese carmaker battles millions of recalls of older models to address faulty airbags.

The latest Fit’s complexity, including a new platform, transmission and hybrid drivetrain, presented fresh challenges.

The initial problem: Nagging computer glitches that botched shifting of its 7-speed DCT or mishandled torque.

In Japan, from October 2013 to July, Honda had to initiate four recalls of the Fit Hybrid, two of which also covered the HR-V hybrid, which is sold as the Vezel Hybrid in Japan. The latest action, on July 10, affected 175,356 Fit and Vezel hybrids.

The third-generation Fit went on sale in the United States this year, but the hybrid is not sold there. Honda has said it also has no plans to sell the hybrid version of the HR-V Stateside.

Hybrids account for 60 percent of total Fit sales in Japan.

Rethinking r&d

Honda’s recall-induced r&d tweak, revealed last month, inserts a prototype earlier into the research stage to test how independently developed parts work together in a full vehicle.

Previously, the Japanese carmaker, known for its bulletproof production process, never actually pulled the components together until after research was done and development underway.

The r&d redo will increase the cost and time of developing cars at Honda, just two years after a sweeping r&d overhaul aimed to speed localization and better tailor cars to local markets.

Before, engineers in the research phase created automobile systems in isolated parallel silos. The components were green-lighted independently and then sent to the development phase, where other engineers would install them in a prototype vehicle.

Now, the systems are installed in a prototype vehicle in the research stage to ensure they function seemlessly.

The new Fit racks up a long list of firsts for Honda.

The hybrid version is the first using Honda's new one-motor, dual-clutch gasoline-electric drivetrain. The U.S. version is the first Fit manufactured in North America.

Complex car

It is also the first vehicle showcasing the Honda brand's new design language. Finally, the Fit is the first car coming out of Ito's global vehicle development strategy.

Honda’s new global r&d approach Honda unveiled in 2012 empowers regional engineers to tailor cars to local tastes and local procurement. Global nameplates, including the Fit, CR-V, Accord and Civic, are being developed in parallel at regional r&d centers in six operational regions.

Internally, the concept is known as Six-Pole Simultaneous Development and divides the world into Japan, North America, China, Asia-Pacific, South America and Europe.

The first three of the Fit recalls addressed problems with the hybrid’s DCT. A software defect could delay gear engagement of gears or immobilize the car. The last recall fixed a software glitch in the engine control unit that regulated torque.

While the U.S. Fit wasn’t been hit by those recalls, Honda called back 6,200 of the cars in the U.S. last month to inspect and replace interior A-pillar covers improperly installed.

In August, Honda said it would modify 12,000 Fits already in U.S. customer hands to retrofit them with an engineering change that improved the car’s showing in a key industry crash test.

You can reach Hans Greimel

Honda previews two new models at Tokyo, the Vezel and S660

Honda has unveiled the new Urban SUV production model on the first day of the Tokyo Motor Show. The new model will be named Vezel for the Japanese market. Strengthening its sports car activity, Honda also revealed the S660 Concept mid-engined sports model.

The new Urban SUV will be launched in Europe during 2015, with the name of the European model being confirmed nearer to launch.

The exterior design of the new model is close to a SUV, with coupe-like styling in its upper body. The sharp character lines create an inspiring and emotional exterior design. The interior is designed to create a high-quality space for the driver and front passenger, and comfort and functionality for those in the rear.

In Japan, Honda will launch both a hybrid and petrol model of the Vezel. The hybrid model will be equipped with Sport Hybrid i-DCD* that combines a 1.5 litre direct injection engine with a high-output motor, and the petrol model will be equipped with a 1.5 litre direct injection engine. Adopting new-generation powertrain technologies, the Vezel delivers both a dynamic driving character and excellent fuel economy for both models.

The Japanese model will be launched on 20th December 2013.

Honda also unveiled the S660 Concept which aims to deliver nimble and dynamic driving, outstanding stability and a dynamic design that are only possible with a mid-ship layout.

Speaking at the Honda Press Conference, Takanobu Ito, CEO and President of Honda Motor Co., said, “This model embodies the freewheeling thinking of young Honda engineers, who want to make a cool car that is unique to Honda. Our engineers are devoting their passion and technologies to the development of this model.”

Designed for the Japanese kei-car market, the model is being developed towards mass production in 2015.