2017 (Q3) Japan: Best-Selling Car Brands and Models

During the first three quarters of 2017, Toyota was Japan’s best-selling carmaker, the Prius the top-selling model and the Honda N-Box the favorite mini car.

January to September 2017: Toyota easily maintained its traditional position as Japan’s largest vehicle manufacturer followed by Honda and Suzuki. Japanese new vehicle registrations increased by 7.5% to just over 4 million vehicles sold during the first three quarters of 2017. The Toyota Prius was again the best-selling car model in Japan despite a sharp drop in sales. The most popular mini car thus far in 2017 in Japan was the Honda N-Box.

The Japanese New Vehicle Market in 2017 (Q1-3)

New vehicle registrations in Japan increased by 7.5% thus far in 2017 to 4,060,584 vehicles. This number included cars, mini cars, buses and trucks.

The first three quarters of 2017 saw vehicle sales in Japan above the 4 million mark for the first time in three years. Sales were 3,776,386 vehicles during the first nine months of 2016, compared to 3,908,897 in 2015 and a very strong 4,318,311 in 2014.

Best-Selling Vehicle Manufacturers in Japan in 2017 Q1-Q3)

The top-selling vehicle manufacturers (including cars, buses and trucks) in Japan during the first nine months of 2017 according to JADA were:

		Q1-3/2017	Q1-3/2016	% Change 2017
		4,060,584	3,776,384	7.5
1	Toyota	1,217,950	1,157,914	5.2
2	Honda	552,181	536,995	2.8
3	Suzuki	518,344	480, 908	7.8
4	Nissan	496,295	401, 157	23.7
5	Daihatsu	480,788	443, 303	8.5
6	Mazda	166,479	161, 408	3.1
7	Subaru	139,502	117, 130	19.1
8	Mitsubishi	72,280	64, 306	12.4
9	Isuzu	64,112	61, 343	4.5
10	Hino	52,039	47,595	9.3
11	Mercedes-Benz	51,083	50, 402	1.4
12	BMW	38,832	37, 633	3.2
13	Volkswagen	37,205	36, 760	1.2
14	Mitsubishi Fuso	33,120	34, 246	-3.3
15	Lexus	30,957	40, 467	-23.5
16	Audi	20,916	21, 529	-2.8
17	BMW Mini	18,584	17,790	4.5
18	Volvo	11,999	10,825	10.8
19	UD Trucks	7,736	7,776	-0.5
20	Jeep	7,494	7,098	5.6

Top Carmakers in Japan in 2017 (January to September)

The Japanese new car market expanded for the 11th consecutive month in September 2017 with all of the top ten largest manufacturers increasing sales thus far in 2017.

Toyota and Honda remained the two largest carmakers in Japan during the first three quarters of 2017 but both lost market share with sales increases below market average.

Suzuki just outperformed the market to maintain third place. Nissan increased sales by nearly a quarter to regained fourth place from Daihatsu that also had stronger sales.

Mazda sales were relatively flat while Subaru increased sales by nearly a fifth and Mitsubishi sales increased by 12%. Isuzu sales were up by 4.5%.

Truck maker Hino increased sales by 9% to push Mercedes-Benz out of the top-ten list. Mercedes-Benz slipped to 11th with relatively flat sales but sufficient to easily remained the largest foreign car brand in Japan. BMW and VW had similarly unremarkable increases in sales in Japan thus far in 2017.

Lexus was the worst performing car brand in Japan thus far in 2017 with sales down by nearly a quarter. Lexus slipped from 12th place last year to 15th behind VW and BMW.

Volvo was the only larger foreign car brand in Japan to outperform the broader market thus far in 2017.

Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2017 (Q2+Q3)

The ten best-selling car models in Japan during the six months April to September 2017 according to JADA were:

Rank	Manufacturer	Model	Q2+3/2017	% Change
1	Toyota	Prius	78,707	-40.4
2	Nissan	Note	68,441	68.5
3	Toyota	Aqua	62,537	-23.6
4	Toyota	C-HR	60,627	New
5	Honda	Freed	51,652	305.2
6	Honda	Fit	48,488	-7.9
7	Toyota	Vitz	44,005	19.6
8	Toyota	Sienta	42,837	-31.8
9	Toyota	Voxy	39,988	-6.6
10	Nissan	Serena	37,503	34.6

The JADA-listing exclude Kei cars.

Top-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2017 (Q2+Q3)

During the six-month period April to September 2017, the Toyota Prius remained the best-selling car model in Japan. However, sales of Japan’s favorite car were down by 40% following very strong sales during the corresponding period in 2016.

The Nissan Note moved up from 8th a year ago to second most-popular car model in Japan with sales up by more than two thirds from a year ago.

The Toyota Aqua slipped from second a year ago to third with sales down by nearly a quarter. The Toyota C-HR, a new model, entered the list at fourth.

The new Honda Freed model saw sales triple and a new entrant on the top-ten list at fifth. The aging Honda Fit slipped from fourth with sales down by 8%.

The Toyota Vitz increased sales by a fifth with an improvement in rank position from tenth a year ago. In contrast, Toyota Sienta sales were down by a third and the model slipped from third a year ago to 8th. The Toyota Voxy slipped from fifth to ninth.

The Nissan Serena re-entered the top-ten list with sales up by more than a third. The evergreen Toyota Corolla slipped to 13th.

Top-Selling Mini Kei Cars in Japan in 2017 (Q1-Q3)

The top ten best-selling mini cars (kei-jidousya) in Japan during the first three quarters of 2017 according to Zenkeijikyo were:

Maker	Common name	This month	Q1-3/2017	Q1-3/2016	% Change
1	Honda	N-BOX	157,795	142,696	10.6
2	Nissan	Dayz	113,641	77,098	47.4
3	Daihatsu	Tanto	112,696	124,861	-9.7
4	Daihatsu	Move	105,037	65,006	61.6
5	Suzuki	Wagon R	88,385	64,103	37.9
6	Suzuki	Spacia	82,208	63,132	30.2
7	Daihatsu	Mira	74,054	56,991	29.9
8	Suzuki	Alto	71,128	78,345	-9.2
9	Honda	N-WGN	60,666	67,328	-9.9
10	Suzuki	Hustler	58,546	66,726	-12.3

Mini cars (kei-jidousya) in Japan are vehicles defined by amongst others being shorter than 3.4 m with a maximum height of 2 m and a maximum width of 1.48 m. The engine capacity is restricted to 0.66 l measured by the Japanese standard.