Honda Motor Co.'s China sales totaled 102,319 vehicles in July, a jump of 39 percent year on year.

 

Honda's performance last month was so strong that it outsold rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. In July, Toyota deliveries rose 5.7 percent year on year to 97,700 vehicles, while Nissan sales rose 8.9 percent to 91,700.

 

Honda's sales growth in China has been broad-based, as a number of models enjoyed strong demand. Among the 18 Honda models marketed in China, one-third achieved sales growth of more than 30 percent in July.

 

The Honda Elysion multipurpose vehicle generated 2,601 deliveries, nearly 5 times its sales a year earlier. Sales of the City subcompact almost doubled to 5,901 vehicles, and sales of the XR-V crossover jumped 149 percent to 14,073.

 

In the first seven months, Honda sold 646,054 vehicles in China, up 21 percent from the same period last year. For the same period, Toyota sales rose 14 percent to 689,900, while Nissan sales increased 4.5 percent to 701,700.

 

Over the past year or so, Honda and Mercedes-Benz have been among the fastest-growing foreign automakers in China. Both have consistently outpaced overall industry sales.

 

To maintain rapid growth, Honda will revive plans to build a third assembly plant for its joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp. The factory will produce up to 240,000 vehicles a year.

 

Dongfeng Honda will launch construction in the central China city of Wuhan this year, according to Chinese media.

 

Honda earlier had shelved plans for a new assembly plant after sales dropped 4 percent in 2014.

 

Honda also runs a partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. in the south China city of Guangzhou.