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New Toyota Prius Is the Best-Selling Car in Japan for January 2016

Toyota is a household name in Japan, the automaker that knows how to do almost everything right. When the Prius was launched all those years ago, it was initially only available in Japan and, not surprisingly, it's still the most popular car.
2016 Toyota Prius 1 photo
Photo: Stefan Baldauf
January 2016 sales numbers have been released by the Japanese Automotive Dealers Association. The Prius was by far the most popular car, with 21,036 units sold, representing an increase of 188 percent over the same month of last year.

Toyota holds the entire podium, as the Aqua, known as Prius c in America, was the second best-seller, followed by the Sienta van. The little Aqua sold 12,720 units (up 63%) and the Sienta sold 9,814 units (up nearly ten times). But as you can see, the Prius dominates the market. The Nissan Note came 4th, followed by the Honda Fit.

The best-selling kei car was something called a Tant, followed by the Honda N-Box. Daihatsu's hold on the kei car market, which is counted separately, seems to be slipping. However, the Japanse government has cut some of the incentives offered to small car buyers to make the industry more competitive.

The all-new Prius was launched back in December and is viewed by many as the most technologically advanced volume car ever made by Toyota.

According to Japan's fuel consumption measuring system, the cleanest model is the Prius E and gets 40.8 kilometers per liter of fuel. That's just 2.45 l/100km or 96 mpg US. You can even buy it with a special kind of AWD system that uses an electric motor mounted on the rear axle to improve traction.

The car comes as standard with a new nickel-metal hydride hybrid (NI-MH) battery. It's got a higher density, making it more compact and lighter than before. Optionally, a more modern lithium-ion (Li-Ion) pack is also available.

Polarizing as it might be, the styling seems to play a part in the sales growth. Apparently, Japan likes the design that was loosely inspired by Lady Gaga. You can buy it in all sorts of crazy colors, including neon green, and the wheels can be painted as well.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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