2017 (Q1) Japan: Best-Selling Car Brands and Models

During the first quarter of 2017, Toyota remained the largest carmaker in an expanding Japanese vehicle market but the Nissan Note was the top-selling model.

Toyota C-HR at Geneva 2017

New vehicle registrations in Japan increased by 7.3% to 1,577,750 vehicles during the first quarter of 2017. In March 2017, the Japanese new car market expanded for the fifth consecutive month. Toyota easily remained the largest vehicle manufacturer in Japan with sales growth double the broader market. For a change, Toyota did not produce the top-selling car model: the Nissan Note was Japan’s favorite car model thus far in 2017.

The Japanese New Vehicle Market in 2017 (Q1)

The Japanese new vehicle market including cars, buses and heavy commercial vehicles, expanded by 7.3% to 1,577,750 during the first thee months of 2017. This is just over 100,000 more vehicles than were sold during the same period in 2016 but still around a thousand less than during the first quarter of 2015.

In March 2017, new passenger vehicle registrations in Japan increased for the fifth consecutive month. Car sales in Japan has been as follows thus far in 2017 according to JADA statistics:

Q1/2017 Q1/2016 % Change 16/17
January 343,426 328,994 4.4
Feburary 413,316 382,114 8.2
March 583,772 532,468 9.6
Total (Q1) 1,340,514 1,243,576 7.8

Best-Selling Vehicle Manufacturers in Japan in 2017 (Q1)

The top-selling vehicle brands in Japan during the first three months of 2017 were as follows according to JADA:

Marque Q1/2017 Q1/2016 % Change
Total 1,577,750 1,470,104 7.3
1 Toyota 461,920 403,271 14.5
2 Honda 219,047 215,301 1.7
3 Nissan 213,026 189,926 12.2
4 Suzuki 198,299 182,295 8.8
5 Daihatsu 175,818 179,980 -2.3
6 Mazda 70,237 68,899 1.9
7 Subaru 55,045 47,502 15.9
8 Mitsubishi 29,666 35,607 -16.7
9 Isuzu 25,087 21,613 16.1
10 Hino 21,107 17,601 19.1
11 Mercedes-Benz 17,775 17,666 0.6
12 VW 14,083 13,591 3.6
13 Lexus 13,336 16,374 -18.6
14 BMW 13,110 12,853 2.0
15 Mitusbishi Fuso 11,508 12,082 -4.8
16 Audi 6,957 6,741 3.2
17 BMW Mini 6,379 6,010 6.1
18 Volvo 4,206 3,763 11.8
19 DU Trucks 2,642 2,711 -2.5
20 Jeep 2,478 2,125 16.6
21 Renault 2,365 1,552 52.4
22 Peugeot 2,158 2,036 6.0
23 Porsche 2,001 1,566 27.8
24 Fiat 1,650 1,892 -12.8
25 Smart 1,406 1,359 3.5

Top 25 Vehicle Brands in Japan in 2017 (Q1)

Most of the top 25 best-selling vehicle brands in Japan increased sales during the first quarter of 2017 with the larger Japanese brands mostly outperforming the broader market, even though Lexus was the worst-performing brand overall.

Toyota remained Japan’s largest carmaker and increased market share with sales growth twice the market average. Toyota sold nearly 60,000 more vehicles during the first quarter of 2017 compared to last year.

In contrast, Honda remained Japan’s second largest carmaker but with flat sales only narrowly outsold Nissan. Nissan sales increased by 12% to leave it in third place only 6,000 cars behind Honda.

Suzuki narrowly outsold the broader market to take fourth place from Daihatsu that saw sales shrunk by 2.3%.

Mazda sales were positive but flat in the fast growing Japanese market. Subaru and Isuzu outsold the broader market but Mitsubishi sales were sharply down.

Hino re-entered the top ten with strong sales at the expense of Mercedes-Benz that had flat sales. Mercedes-Benz remained the top imported car brand in Japan during the first quarter of 2017.

Volkswagen moved ahead of Lexus with flat sales while Lexus was the worst performer of the top 25 best-selling car marques in Japan thus in 2017.

The rest of the top 20 car brands in Japan was unchanged from a year ago.

The most-improved brands were Renault and Porsche but in comparison to Toyota the totals remained rather insignificant.

Ten Best-Selling Cars in Japan in 2017 Q1)

The ten top-sellers in Japan during the first three months of 2017 were as follows according to JADA statistics:

 Model January February March Q1/2017
1 Nissan Note 14,113 14,859 24,383 53,355
2 Toyota Prius 9,883 15,958 22,447 48,288
3 Toyota C-HR 9,144 12,985 16,816 38,945
4 Toyota Aqua 8,225 11,379 17,798 37,402
5 Nissan Serena 11,179 10,983 14,577 36,739
6 Honda Freed 9,029 10,341 14,799 34,169
7 Toyota Sienta 9,108 10,128 13,336 32,572
8 Toyota Vitz 5,284 8,475 12,654 26,413
9 Honda Fit 6,280 8,201 11,629 26,110
10 Toyota Voxy 6,412 8,468 10,831 25,711

Note: List exclude mini (Kei) cars

Japan’s Favorite Car Models in 2017 (Q1)

In a change of recent form, it was a Nissan rather than a Toyota that topped the list of the best-selling car models in Japan. Thus far in 2017, the Nissan Note has been the best-selling car model in Japan. The Note was Japan’s top-selling car for the first time in November 2016 – the first time in just over three decades that a Nissan model was Japan’s favorite car during a calendar month. The Note again led the list in January and March 2017 to sell 53,355 cars during the first quarter of 2017. In 2016, the Note was fourth with around 32,000 sales.

The Toyota Prius slipped to second place with sales down by around 22,000 compared to the first quarter of 2016.

The Toyota C-HR – a new crossover vehicle – was very well received in Japan and the third best-selling car during the first quarter of 2017. The Toyota Aqua slipped from second to fourth with sales down from 50,000 cars a year ago.

The Nissan Serena re-entered the top-ten list after slipping to 11th a year ago. The Honda Freed similarly is a new entry.

The Toyota Sienta slipped from 5th to 7th although the number of cars sold actually increased. The Toyota Vitz re-entered the list from 12th a year ago.

The Honda Fit slipped from third a year ago. In March 2016 alone, more Fits were sold in Japan than during the first three months of 2017.

The Toyota Voxy slipped from 6th a year ago.

Car models slipping out of the top-ten list of bestsellers in Japan during the first quarter of 2017 were the Honda Vezel, Nissan X-Trail and Mazda Demio.

Top-Selling Exotic and Sports in Japan in 2017 (Q1)

The good times are returning for exotic sports car in Japan according to the new vehicle registration data released by JADA. A few examples:

Brand Q1/2017 Q1/2016 % Change Q1/2015
Maserati 396 290 36.6 314
Ferrari 176 128 37.5 166
Lamborghini 143 90 58.9 75
Bentley 78 86 -9.3 87
Rolls Royce 63 46 37.0 42
McLaren 41 29 41.4 22
Bugatti 1 1 0.0

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.