Toyota Prius hybrid tops Japan '09 car sales

The Toyota Prius became the first hybrid car that enjoyed best selling in Japan in 2009, according to statistics released on Friday by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

The Prius sold 208,876 units in 2009, a 285.7 percent increase on sales in 2008.

The Prius was also the best-selling car in Japan in December, and has been in the top spot since May, when it released a new model.

Toyota, along with Honda, dominated car sales in Japan last year, producing eight of the top ten best-selling models of 2009.

The Honda Fit sold the second-most units, shifting 157, 324 models over the course of the year. The compact car, however, sawits sales drop by 10.1 percent compared with 2008.

The only other maker to have a car in the top 10 best-sellers was Nissan, which saw its Serena and Note models come in eighth place and 10th place respectively.

No models by foreign automakers appeared in the list of the top 30 best-selling cars of the year.

In recent years, Japanese automakers have focused on making more environmentally friendly cars amid fears about climate change and concerted actions by governments to reduce emissions.