Honda Motor Co. said its May sales in China rose 16 percent year on year to 115,584 vehicles, maintaining its status as the market's top-selling Japanese automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s deliveries rose nearly 12 percent to 112,800 last month, barely edging out Nissan Motor Co., whose China sales increased 5.7 percent to 112,085 vehicles.

Honda has maintained the momentum it established last year when it gained share month after month with a mix of crossovers and small cars.

For the first five months of 2017, Nissan remained the top-selling Japanese automaker, with volume up 6.2 percent to 531,756. For the period, Honda's China sales rose 19 percent to 115,584 vehicles and Toyota deliveries jumped 32 percent to 517,100 vehicles.

All three Japanese automakers may have benefited from the woes of Korean rivals Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.

Both automakers have suffered a slump in sales after China criticized South Korea for allowing the United States to deploy an anti-missile defense system on the Korean peninsula.

Kia also is trying to resolve a dispute with its Chinese dealers.