Toyota, Nissan sales rise, but Honda's fall in July

Of Japan's Big 3, Toyota and Nissan prospered while Honda still trailed in sales results for July compared to the same month last year. How they and other Asian brands fared:

Toyota

In a preview of its July sales details, Toyota Motor said its Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands had combined sales of 215,802 units, up 11.6% from July sales a year earlier.

That made it the second-best-selling automaker in July, passing Ford Motor the first time since August 2013. It was Toyota's best July in eight years. It was also the third straight month in which sales exceeded 200,000.

"Rising consumer confidence, coupled with momentum in the marketplace, boosted auto sales in July," said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president, in a statement.

Champions included RAV4, Camry and Corolla. Sales for RAV4 are so strong that in some parts of the country, dealers could be short of them. Fay said on a conference call he hopes to have more later in the year.

"Lexus dealers turned in their best July results ever thanks to some hot products, a nationwide marketing program and the strength of the overall luxury market," said Jeff Bracken, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "Six of the eight Lexus models posted gains for the month."

Nissan

Nissan says it set a July sales record, with an 11.4% increase over the same month last year.

Nothing new there: Nissan says it has set monthly sales records in 16 of the last 17 months.

Sales stars include the Versa and Sentra compact cars, and in a continuing success, the electric Leaf. Senior Vice President Fred Diaz says demand continues to pick up for the model as new states add incentives to buyers of electric cars. The Leaf runs entirely on batteries.

Nissan is scoring, too, with its Rogue crossover. "If we could just get more inventory we could sell more," Diaz says. He says dealers are down to about a 30-day inventory, which is considered tight in the auto industry. He says plans are in the works to increase supplies.

Overall, he says Nissan's incentive spending has fallen by $125 per vehicle on average in the past year while the industry as a whole has seen an increase of $190. Selling cars with fewer incentives is a sign that consumers see them as an overall good deal since discounting isn't required.

As for the industry as a whole, Diaz is optimistic. "I think sentiment is very positive."

Honda

Honda sales slipped 3.9% despite gains in sales for the brand's flagship sedan, the Accord.

Some of Honda's biggest declines came among some of its truck models, including Ridgeline, Odyssey and Pilot, all down double-digits. Sales in the Acura were down 17.6% as the luxury division looks to capitalize on a new sedan that it thinks will be hot seller, the TLX, which is just arriving at dealers.

Accord had the best July sales in five years. The small CR-V crossover had its best sales month ever, Honda says, with a 4.8% gain.

"CR-V continues to cement its place as America's favorite and best-selling SUV with yet another record month of sales," said Jeff Conrad, Honda division senior vice president, in a statement.

The new 2015 Honda Fit had it best month for sales yet this year, up 1.3% over last year.

Hyundai

Hyundai said July sales were its best ever for the month at 67,011, up 1.5%.

Sonata hybrid enjoyed its best month ever, moving the once relatively unknown model closer to the mainstream. Sales were up 19.4%.

Hyundai also scored with its crossovers. The Santa Fe was up 15.4% and the Santa Fe Sport was up 30.8%.

A couple popular models were down for a month. They were the Elantra sedan, off 7.3%, and the Tucson compact crossover, down 4.6%.

Kia

Kia, the South Korea-based sibling to Hyundai, saw a 6.7% increase in July.

The increase was driven by huge sales increases on two already popular models. The Soul, a small hatchback, had a 44.8% increase and the Sportage, a compact crossover, saw a huge 74.9% increase.

Mazda

Mazda saw an impressive sales lift of 17.1% for the month.

It was led by its Mazda6 sedan, the Mazda5 crossover and Mazda2. The Mazda2 subcompact is being replaced by a redesigned version.