JAPAN'S TOP TEN PASSENGER CARS IN 1981

Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd. has compiled figures for passenger car sales during 1981 (including flash reports for December), which show that the Toyota Corolla was No. 1 for the year, with total sales of 251,005 vehicles. The Corolla has now been Japan's best selling passenger car for 13 consecutive years.

While there was no change from 1980 in the models appearing in the top ten, there were changes in rankings. The Mazda Familia, for example, which ranked seventh in 1980, rose to the No. 3 slot, becoming the second best selling popular-size Japanese passenger car after the Corolla. The Toyota Mark II, meanwhile, continued to ride on the strength of a full model change in October 1980, climbing from tenth place in 1980 to No. 5 last year.

By maker, six Toyota cars were in the top ten, together with three Nissan and one Mazda models―the same breakdown as in 1980.

The leaders in the major size categories were the Toyota Crown (for the ninth consecutive year) in the medium-and large-size class, the Nissan Bluebird (for the second consecutive year) in the small-size class, and the Toyota Corolla (for the 15th consecutive year) in the popular-size class.