Prius Goes On, Tops Japan March Sales

Despite the fact that at one point the entire Toyota world seemed to crumble all around it, the hybrid Prius never appeared to be very affected by the recall frenzy of early 2010. As it did for the past several months, the Prius managed to remain the number one best selling vehicle in Japan in March, for the 11th consecutive month.

35,546 Toyota hybrids found new Japanese owners in March, putting an almost insurmountable gap between it and runner-up Honda Fit, who only managed to sell 23,076 units.

"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 Japan Automobile Dealers Association told DetNews.

Currently, the Prius is the top-selling car in Japan in the fiscal year to March, selling 277,485 units, or more than four times the amount sold last year. Trailing it in Japan is the same Honda Fit, with 173,154.units sold. Worldwide, the Prius managed to appeal to 1.7 million people.

In February, when the heat of the recall was still powerful, the Prius also remained on top of the Japanese customer's preferences.

"Sales aren't likely to taper off until next year," Mamoru Katou, analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research said last month. "Sales are going strong despite the big fuss, although there are some cancellations."