Honda Insight Hybrid Tops Japanese Sales Charts

For the first time in Japanese automotive history, a Hybrid vehicle has topped the sales charts. While this might sound like the end of the world to some of us anti-hybrid promoters, any car that's selling well is a bright spot in a rather bleak picture these days.

The Insight sold 10,481 units last month, making it the best selling car in Japan's severely depressed market.  For reference, Japanese new car sales are predicted to dip below 5 million for the first time in nearly 30 years in 2009.  The Insight managed to grab the top spot despite the brand-new third generation Toyota Prius hitting the market about a week from now.

Why?  Well primarily, people have less money to spend on cars these days, and the Insight is a good sight cheaper than the slightly more mechanically sophisticated Prius.  In Japan, the price difference between a Prius and an Insight is a few thousand dollars, which is an appealing differentiation in today's market.

The Insight beat out it's smaller brother the Fit/Jazz in 2nd place and Toyota's tiny Vitz (Yaris in the US) took third.

The real test for the Insight will come when the brand-new third generation Prius rolls out this time next week in Japan.  It might be bad news for Honda, but it will be good news for the economy at least.