06/08/2008 14:22. Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. , Japan's second- largest carmaker, topped the country's passenger-car sales ranking for the ninth straight month with its Fit compact.

Fit sales more than doubled in July from a year earlier to 16,293 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said in a release today. Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla ranked second with 14,546 vehicles sold, and its Vitz took third with 13,563 sold.

Demand for the Fit and new Freed minivan boosted Honda's domestic sales, excluding minicars, by 29 percent last month. The Fit, revamped in October, helped Tokyo-based Honda to end the Toyota Corolla's four-year reign as Japan's bestselling non- minicar model in the year ended March 31.

Toyota had six models in the top 10 in last month, while Honda and Nissan Motor... // Bloomberg