Japan's new auto sales up third month

Japan's domestic sales of new vehicles rose 13.3 percent year-on-year to 276,399 units in November for the third consecutive month of growth, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday. Among Japan's top three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. sold 122,124 new cars, up 0.1 percent, while Honda Motor Corp's sales more than doubled to 41, 330 units thanks to strong demand for its next-generation hybrid mode, and Nissan Motor Corp. posted a 3.7 percent increase to 35,931 units. Sales of registered vehicles, which exclude mini-cars or mini-trucks, hit a four-year high for the month of November, as consumers bought vehicles ahead of the planned consumption tax hike in April, the association said. It also said the introduction of new models also helped push sales.