In 2014, Toyota, Honda and Suzuki remained the largest carmakers in Japan. The Japanese vehicle market expanded 3.5% to 5.5 million vehicles. The Toyota Aqua was again the most popular car model in Japan in 2014.
The Japanese Vehicle Market in 2014 (Full Year)
New vehicle registrations in Japan increased by 3.5% in 2014 to 5,562,887 vehicles including passenger cars, trucks and buses. Manufacturers of commercial vehicles performed strongly.
The Japanese car market in 2014 was overshadowed by the increase of sales taxes on April 1, 2014. This led to frontloading during the first quarter of the year when vehicle sales were up 20%. For the rest of the year, the Japanese vehicle market was mostly contracting but remained positive for the full calendar year.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Japan in 2014 (Full Year)
The top 20 largest vehicle brands in Japan in 2014 according to new vehicle registration data released byJADA were:
| Rank 2014 | Manufacturer | Sales 2014 | Sales 2013 | % Change |
| Total | 5,562,887 | 5,375,513 | 3.5 | |
| 1 | Toyota | 1,509,149 | 1,536,260 | -1.8 |
| 2 | Honda | 848,753 | 763,388 | 11.2 |
| 3 | Suzuki | 787,361 | 701,472 | 12.2 |
| 4 | Daihatsu | 708,179 | 662,690 | 6.9 |
| 5 | Nissan | 670,315 | 678,887 | -1.3 |
| 6 | Mazda | 224,359 | 228,089 | -1.6 |
| 7 | Subaru | 169,552 | 180,824 | -6.2 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi | 125,083 | 139,016 | -10 |
| 9 | Isuzu | 74,556 | 63,265 | 18.8 |
| 10 | VW | 67,438 | 67,282 | 0.2 |
| 11 | Mercedes-Benz | 60,839 | 53,731 | 13.2 |
| 12 | Hino | 57,422 | 48,189 | 19.2 |
| 13 | BMW | 45,645 | 46,037 | -0.9 |
| 14 | Lexus | 44,246 | 46,772 | -5.4 |
| 15 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 42,509 | 36,731 | 15.7 |
| 16 | Audi | 31,413 | 28,676 | 9.5 |
| 17 | BMW MINI | 17,596 | 16,982 | 3.6 |
| 18 | Volvo | 13,520 | 17,149 | -21.2 |
| 19 | UD Trucks | 11,072 | 9,284 | 19.3 |
| 20 | Fiat | 7,289 | 7,007 | 4 |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Japan in 2014
There were only minor changes in the rank order of the top car marques in Japan in 2014 but the various carmakers had quite different results.
Market leader Toyota had slightly weaker sales in 2014 but due to its size, a 1.8% reduction in sales results in nearly 30,000 fewer vehicles sold.
In stark contrast, the strong performance by Honda and Suzuki added nearly 90,000 cars each to the Japanese market in 2014. Daihatsu also sold more cars in 2014 allowing it to snatch fourth place from Nissan, which had slightly weaker sales.
Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi maintained the positions from last year despite weaker sales. Mitsubishi was down by 10% – the worst performance of any Japanese brand. Of the top-20 brands, only Volvo sales were down more.
A strong performance by Isuzu allows the Japanese manufacturer of mostly commercial vehicles to snatch ninth place back from Volkswagen. VW sales in Japan in 2014 were flat.
Mercedes-Benz had another strong year in Japan in 2014. Mercedes sales in Japan increased by a third over the past two years.
Lexus had a weak year in Japan in 2014 and as a result lost 13th place to BMW despite the German manufacturer selling slightly fewer cars. Audi and Mini sales increased.
There were no further rank changes amongst the top 20 brands in Japan in 2014. The best performances came from heavy vehicle producers UD Trucks (+19.3%), Hino (+19.2%), Isuzu (+18.8%) and Mitsubishi Fuso (+15.7%). The weakest performances were by Volvo (-21.2%) and Mitsubishi (-10%).
Car Sales of Luxury Brands in Japan in 2014
Despite the crowded roads and very strict speed limits in Japan, luxury and sports car brands remain very popular in Japan. Maserati had a very good year while Rolls Royce also did remarkably well too. A few sales figures from the JADA statistics:
| Â Marque | Sales 2014 | Sales 2013 | % Change |
| Maserati | 1,407 | 491 | 186.6 |
| Ferrari | 561 | 544 | 3.1 |
| Bentley | 317 | 293 | 8.2 |
| Lamborghini | 187 | 190 | -1.6 |
| Rolls Royce | 154 | 116 | 32.8 |
| McLaren | 88 | 84 | 4.8 |
| Bugatti | 2 | 3 | -33.3 |
Japan’s favorite car models in 2014 were the much more reasonably priced Toyota Aqua and Honda Fit.
