Toyota Prius number one in Japan 11th month in a row

Toyota's Prius hybrid was Japan's top-selling car in March for an 11th straight month despite global recall woes, an industry group said Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp., reeling after recalls over issues that included braking problems with the Prius, sold 35,546 units of the petrol-electric vehicle in Japan last month, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

"The recall woes did not appear to dent demand for the Prius. Despite the recall trouble, the automaker cannot keep up with surging demand for the Prius," said Toshiki Miyake, a spokesman for the association.

Consumers were choosing the Prius with the help of tax breaks and government subsidies for environmentally friendly vehicles, Miyake said.

Toyota's Prius was also the top-selling car in Japan in the fiscal year to March 2010, with sales quadrupling from a year earlier to 277,485, the association said.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, with a total of 1.7 million units sold worldwide, according to Toyota. It is so popular in Japan that it still has a six-month waiting list after almost a full year on the market.

Rival Honda Motor Co.'s fuel-efficient FIT was in second place in March sales in Japan, with 23,076 units sold, the association said. The FIT also was No. 2 for the fiscal year with sales of 173,154.

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