Honda Motor Co., Japan?s third-biggest car maker, reported a 9.2 percent rise in quarterly operating profit thanks to improved domestic and Asian sales and raised its full-year forecast by 7 percent.

Honda, which kicked off the earnings season for Japanese car makers on Wednesday, showed stronger growth in domestic sales than its rivals thanks to the Elysion minivan and other new models, with an 8 percent rise in units sold in the second quarter compared with the same quarter last year.