Honda sales outpace Toyota, Nissan in February
Honda Motor Co.'s deliveries in China jumped nearly 18 percent year on year in January and February to 194,169 vehicles, as the automaker continued to outpace key Japanese rivals.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales declined 3.6 percent to 183,600 while Nissan Motor Co. deliveries edged up 3.1 percent to 194,241 vehicles.
Analysts prefer to aggregate the first two months of sales to account for China's week-long Lunar New Year, which was observed in January this year.
Honda's results look especially strong in light of China¡¯s higher sales tax on small cars, which rose to 7.5 percent from 5 percent on January 1.
Honda, which had been the No. 3 Japanese automaker in China, overtook Toyota in 2016. Last year, Honda sales rose 24 percent to 1.25 million vehicles, while Toyota deliveries increased 8.2 percent to 1.2 million units.
Nissan retained its top-dog status in China with sales of 1.35 million vehicles last year, up 8.4 percent.
The Japanese automakers have been cautious about their prospects this year. In January, Toyota predicted flat sales in 2017. Honda expects its sales growth to slow to 7.4 percent, due to modest expectations for China's economy.
Analysts prefer to aggregate the first two months of sales to account for China's week-long Lunar New Year, which was observed in January this year.
Honda's results look especially strong in light of China¡¯s higher sales tax on small cars, which rose to 7.5 percent from 5 percent on January 1.
Honda, which had been the No. 3 Japanese automaker in China, overtook Toyota in 2016. Last year, Honda sales rose 24 percent to 1.25 million vehicles, while Toyota deliveries increased 8.2 percent to 1.2 million units.
Nissan retained its top-dog status in China with sales of 1.35 million vehicles last year, up 8.4 percent.
The Japanese automakers have been cautious about their prospects this year. In January, Toyota predicted flat sales in 2017. Honda expects its sales growth to slow to 7.4 percent, due to modest expectations for China's economy.
