Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. led the first rise in domestic auto sales in 13 months as government incentives and new hybrid models boosted demand, industry data showed Tuesday.
Sales of cars, trucks and buses but not minicars rose 2.3 percent to 198,265 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
Toyota sold 90,802 units excluding Lexus-brand cars, up 9 percent. Honda posted a 13 percent gain. Nissan Motor Co. sold 1.4 percent fewer vehicles.
Auto sales reversed a yearlong slide as government subsidies and tax cuts helped lift sales of Toyota's new Prius and Honda's Insight gasoline-electric hybrid cars. Crude oil prices above $100 a barrel also discouraged car purchases a year earlier.
"The carmakers' models that qualify for tax breaks and subsidies are getting a big boost," said Yoshiaki Kawano, an analyst at auto consulting company CSM Worldwide in Tokyo. "Because sales were falling so much last year around this time, the year-on-year comparisons will continue to be positive."
Under a government program started June 19, consumers can apply for a ¥250,000 subsidy if they scrap a car more than 13 years old to buy a new one and ¥100,000 for a new car purchase without scrapping an old one. The subsidies are available retroactively for purchases from April 10.
The government expects the incentives to lead to the sale of an additional 690,000 vehicles this fiscal year.