During the first semester of 2018 Toyota remained Japan’s largest carmaker despite loosing market share. The Nissan Note was Japan’s top-selling car model.
During the first six months of 2018 the Japanese new vehicle market contracted slightly to just over 2.7 million vehicles. Toyota sales were down by 9% allowing most other Japanese carmakers to gain market share. The Nissan Note was the top-selling car model in Japan although the Honda N-Box mini car (kei) sold in far higher numbers.
Japanese New Vehicle Market in 2018 (Half Year)
New vehicle registrations in Japan decreased by 1.2% to 2,732,478 vehicles during the first six months of 2018. This figure includes passenger cars, commercial vehicles and buses.
Best-Selling Vehicle Manufacturers in Japan in 2018 (First Semester)
The largest vehicle manufacturers in Japan during the first half of 2018 according to JADA were as follows:
| Brand | 2018 HY | 2017 HY | % Change 2018 | |
| Total | 2,732,478 | 2,782,542 | -1.2 | |
| 1 | Toyota | 765,783 | 843,632 | -9.2 |
| 2 | Honda | 385,742 | 376,639 | 2.4 |
| 3 | Suzuki | 374,078 | 358,148 | 4.4 |
| 4 | Nissan | 335,997 | 343,951 | 2.3 |
| 5 | Daihatsu | 335,114 | 329,508 | 1.7 |
| 6 | Mazda | 119,901 | 111,551 | 7.5 |
| 7 | Subaru | 76,600 | 95,999 | -20.2 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi | 56,427 | 48,541 | 16.2 |
| 9 | Isuzu | 36,173 | 40,957 | -11.7 |
| 10 | Hino | 35,301 | 33,507 | 5.4 |
| 11 | Lexus | 32,912 | 22,021 | 49.5 |
| 12 | Mercedes-Benz | 32,503 | 32,699 | -0.6 |
| 13 | VW | 26,078 | 25,596 | 1.9 |
| 14 | BMW | 23,458 | 25,429 | -7.8 |
| 15 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 21,641 | 21,353 | 1.3 |
| 16 | Audi | 14,052 | 13,458 | 4.4 |
| 17 | Mini | 12,772 | 12,468 | 2.4 |
| 18 | Volvo | 8,725 | 7,873 | 10.8 |
| 19 | Jeep | 5,640 | 4,983 | 13.2 |
| 20 | Peugeot | 5,231 | 3942 | 32.7 |
| Source: JADA |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Japan in 2018 (First Half)
There were no rank position changes in the top ten vehicle manufacturers in Japan during the first semester of 2018 compared to the first six months of 2017. Toyota comfortably remained Japan’s top carmaker but lost market share with sales down by 9.2%.
In contrast, Honda, Suzuki, Nissan, Daihatsu and Mazda all had positive sales growth in Japan during the first half of 2018. Daihatsu narrowly missed out on taking fourth place from Nissan with the sales difference below 900 cars. Mazda was the most improved brand among the top-ten largest carmakers in Japan.
Subaru was the worst performing top brand with sales down by a fifth while Isuzu sales were down 12%. Mitsubishi was the most-improved top-ten brand in Japan.
Lexus was the strongest performer of the top 20 brands in Japan with sales up by 50% during the first six months of 2018. Lexus moved up to 11th from 14th to again outsell Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW that each moved down one rank position in Japan. Mercedes-Benz remained the top imported foreign car brand in Japan this far in 2018.
All other top 20 brands increased sales in Japan during the first half of 2018. Peugeot sales were up by a third to enter the top 20 at the expense of UD Trucks.
Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2018 (First Semester)
The ten top-selling car models in Japan during the first six months of 2018 according to JADA were:
| Brand | Model | 2018 HY | 2017 (HY) | % Change | |
| 1 | Nissan | Note | 73,380 | 84,211 | -12.9 |
| 2 | Toyota | Aqua | 66, 144 | 64,168 | 3.1 |
| 3 | Toyota | Prius | 64,019 | 91,246 | -29.8 |
| 4 | Nissan | Serena | 56,095 | 54,344 | 3.2 |
| 5 | Honda | Fit | 47, 962 | 46,171 | 3.9 |
| 6 | Toyota | Voxy | 47, 702 | 43,448 | 7.8 |
| 7 | Toyota | Sienta | 45, 417 | 54,005 | -15.9 |
| 8 | Toyota | Rumi | 44, 923 | 39,106 | 14.9 |
| 9 | Freed | Honda | 43, 984 | 61,057 | -28.0 |
| 10 | Toyota | Vitz | 42, 529 | 51,617 | -17.6 |
| Source: JADA |
Note: These numbers exclude Kei cars.
Japan’s Favorite Ten Car Models in 2018 (Half Year)
The Nissan Note was Japan’s top-selling car model during the first half of 2018 despite selling in lower numbers than a year ago. The Note was second a year ago.
The Toyota Aqua moved up to second from fourth with a slight increase in sales in Japan during the first half of the year. The Toyota Prius – last year’s number one – slipped to third with sales down by 30%.
The Nissan Serena improved to 4th from 6th, the Honda Fit from 9th to 5th and the Toyota Voxy from 10th to 6th – all increasing sales volume. The Toyota Sienta maintained 7th despite weaker sales.
The Toyota Rumi was the only new entry on the top ten list – it improved from 12th to 8th.
The Honda Freed dropped from 5th to 9th and the Toyota Vitz from 8th to 19th – both models selling significantly less cars in Japan this year.
The Toyota C-HR, last year’s number three, dropped out of the list to 11th.
Best-Selling Mini Cars in Japan in 2018 (First Semester)
The ten best-selling kei (mini) cars in Japan during the first half of 2018 were as follows according to the Zenkeijkyo:
| Brand | Model | 2018 (HY) | 2017 (HY) | % Change | |
| 1 | Honda | Ｎ-ＢＯＸ | 127,548 | 106,230 | 20.1 |
| 2 | Suzuki | Spacia | 79,718 | 57,763 | 38 |
| 3 | Daihatsu | Move | 74,109 | 72,167 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Daihatsu | Tant | 71,809 | 80,607 | -10.9 |
| 5 | Nissan | Days | 71,778 | 76,707 | -6.4 |
| 6 | Suzuki | Wagon R | 61,987 | 57,205 | 8.4 |
| 7 | Daihatsu | Mira | 50,138 | 45,632 | 9.9 |
| 8 | Suzuki | Alto | 43,365 | 50,915 | -14.8 |
| 9 | Honda | Ｎ-ＷＧＮ | 35,783 | 44,436 | -19.5 |
| 10 | Suzuki | Hustler | 32,226 | 41,575 | -22.5 |
| Source: Zenkeijkyo |
Kei or mini cars remained hugely popular in Japan with the Honda N-Box far outselling the Nissan Note during the first half of 2018. The Honda N-Box was also the top-selling kei car during the first semester of 2017.
The Suzuki Spacia moved from 5th to 2nd and the Daihatsu Move from 4th to 3rd. the Daihatsu Tant and Nissan Days both lost sales compared to a year ago.
