Toyota, Honda, Nissan Sales Soar!

Toyota, Honda and Nissan both put in big double-digit sales increases in July.

Toyota led it off with a 16.5% increase, which it paints a sign of a stronger economy. Honda did even better, with a 20.9% increase and Nissan put a strong 10.9% gain.

How they did it:

Toyota

Toyota's core models put strong performances, led by Prius with 40%, Camry with 16.3% and Avalon with 229.5%.

Solid industry sales in July point to a stable market indicating a recovering economy," says Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager, in a statement. "Consumer confidence also maintained elevated levels as evidenced by strong retail sales."

Toyota's Lexus division showed a whopping 26.3% increase for the month, with its core ES midsize sedan getting 62% boost and the IS compact coming in at 58.6%.

"The all-new IS is off to a great start in attracting new, younger male customers to the Lexus brand," said Jeff Bracken, Lexus group vice president, in a statement. "With new products such as the IS and
widespread availability of core models including the ES and RX, we are looking forward to a strong August to set the pace for the rest of the year."

Honda

Honda saw a 20.9% increase in sales last month, with Civic sedan seeing the highest July sales in 13 years.
The gains were pretty much across-the-board. The CR-V crossover set a sales record for the month, and Pilot and Ridgeline both saw double-digit sales gains.

"In July, all of our core models - Civic, Accord, Odyssey and CRV - showed double-digit gains," says John Mendel, executive vice president of sales at American Honda, in a statement. "This indicates Honda's commitment to retail sales is resonating with consumers seeking not only fun and fuel-efficient vehicles, but also products that retain their long-term value."

Nissan

Nissan's 10.9% increase was the best ever for the month, helped by big sales of its most popular models and huge boost from its redone SUV -- and even its all-electric car.

"We're pretty excited about the bump," says Fred Diaz, who runs the Nissan division in the U.S.
The Pathfinder SUV saw a 235.1% sales gain over the same month last year, its best July ever. It's a new model, significantly lightened for better gas mileage than the previous one.

But the brand also got a lift from its critical midsize car model, the Altima, which was up a solid 11%. The Versa compact, helped by a new hatchback Note version, rose 20.9%.

Sales of the Leaf electric car rose 371.9%, and have already exceeded the total of all Leafs sold in 2012. Diaz says he thinks more consumers have come to see the benefits of driving an electric car, and the technology isn't that exotic anymore. When they drive a Leaf, they're hooked.

"I didn't realize whsat a pleasure it is to drive an all electric vehicle," Diaz tells USA TODAY. "I was blown away by how fun and cool it is to drive that vehicle."

Infiniti sales, however, were down 33.2% It says that they're down in "anticipation" of a hot new model, the Q50.