HONDA cars had an excellent month with the Jazz, Civic, Accord and CR-V topping their sector and the marque outselling both BMW and Toyota.

"It's a tough market at the moment and this is encouraging," said Ewan Ramsay, Honda general manager of cars.

"The retail market always gives you the best indicator of which brands are performing well because these purchases are made with individuals money rather than through a company scheme.

"I can see Honda continuing to take share from the German brands that have historically dominated this segment."

The success also implies that residual values are vital in private car buying behaviour.