Japan’s five top automakers all increased production in the first six months of the year compared with a year earlier, helped by a recovery in domestic sales and an increase in exports to North America and Asian nations, the automakers announced Friday.

Nissan Motor Co (7201) regained No2 spot in terms of output for the first time in 18 months after increasing its worldwide production by 11.4% to 1.29 million units. Honda Motor Co (7267) fell back to third place despite a 6.7% increase to 1.26 million.

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