Tokyo - Japan's top automakers saw domestic sales fall in May, compared to a year before, companies reported Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp said its domestic sales fell 3.2 per cent to 107,147 units, and Honda Motor Co's sales in Japan also dropped 4.9 per cent to to 39,954 units, companies said.

Nissan Motor Co's domestic sales were down 9 per cent in May to 43,475 units.

Exports, however, soared 93.4 per cent for Nissan to 55,880 units, and Toyota saw a 1.2-per-cent rise in its exports to 205,690 units. Honda's exports declined 11.8 per cent to 52,117 units from a year before.

Global output was up for Toyota and Nissan.

Toyota's global production increased 3.2 per cent to to 723,462 units, and Nissan's production worldwide also rose 5.1 per cent to 275,918 units.

But Honda's global output in May declined 3.7 per cent to 316,674 units.

Toyota's domestic production grew 2.7 per cent to 331,597 units, while overseas production rose 3.6 per cent to 391,865 units, the major Japanese automaker said.

The Toyota group's combined global vehicle production, including output by Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd, increased 3.6 per cent to 805,948 units.

Honda's overseas output inched up 0.4 per cent to 224,316 units, while domestic output fell 12.8 per cent to 92,358 units.

Nissan said its overseas production fell 8.1 per cent to 175,619 units, while domestic production jumped 40.3 per cent to 100,299 units. (dpa)