2018 (Q1) Japan: Best-Selling Car Brands, Models and Mini Cars

Toyota remained Japan’s best-selling carmaker during the first quarter of 2018. The Nissan Note was again the top-selling car model while the Honda N-Box was the favorite mini car of the Japanese.

Lexus LF-1 Limitless at Geneva 2018

During the first quarter of 2018, Toyota remained by far the largest carmaker in Japan. However, Toyota sales were down by over 9% compared to a 2.3% contraction for the general market. Honda and Nissan also had weaker sales. Lexus regained the title as best-selling luxury car brand in Japan. The Nissan Note was again the top-selling car model but Honda sold more of the N-Box mini car.

Japanese New Vehicle Market in 2018 (Q1)

New vehicle registrations in Japan decreased by 2.3% to 1,540,691 vehicles during the first three months of 2018. This figure includes passenger cars, cargo vehicles and buses.

The Japanese new vehicle market contracted by around 22,000 vehicles compared to the first quarter of 2017 but is still a good 70,000 vehicles larger than in the same period in 2016.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Japan in 2018 (Q1)

The top-selling vehicle manufacturers in Japan during the first three months of 2018 according to JADA were:

MarqueQ1/2018% ChangeQ1/2017Q1/2016
Total Market1,540,691-2.31,577,7501,470,104
1Toyota419,203-9.2461,920403,271
2Honda218,9920.0219,047215,301
3Nissan206,183-3.2213,026189,926
4Suzuki200,5951.2198,299182,295
5Daihatsu188,0587.0175,818179,980
6Mazda70,9401.070,23768,899
7Subaru46,867-14.955,04547,502
8Mitsubishi35,59920.029,66635,607
9Isuzu21,383-14.825,08721,613
10Lexus20,38852.913,33616,374
11Hino19,921-5.621,10717,601
12Mercedes-Benz17,9911.217,77517,666
13VW13,195-6.314,08313,591
14BMW11,8829.413,11012,853
15Mitusbishi Fuso11,6441.211,50812,082
16Audi7,2414.16,9576,741
17BMW Mini6,5182.26,3796,010
18Volvo4,196-0.24,2063,763
19Peugeot2,84431.82,1582,036
20Jeep2,82213.92,4782,125
21UD Trucks2,251-14.82,6422,711
22Renault2,199-7.02,3651,552
23Porsche1,925-3.82,0011,566
24Fiat1,500-9.11,6501,892
25Land Rover1,18628.9 –980
Source: Jada

Top-Selling Car Marques in Japan in 2018 (Q1)

The rank order of the top nine largest carmakers in Japan remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2018 compared to last year. However, the top three manufacturers all had weaker sales with Toyota performing particularly weak.

Toyota sales were down 9% while Honda gained some market share with sales down by only 55 cars. Nissan sales declined just below market average.

Suzuki sales were slightly higher allowing the brand to sell over 200,000 cars during the first quarter. Daihatsu’s recovery was even stronger but sales were still around 15,000 cars below the level reached in 2015. Mazda also gained some market share.

Subaru and Isuzu sales were down by 15% – the worst performing brands. In contrast, Mitsubishi sales were up by a fifth.

Lexus sales increased by 50% to re-enter the top-ten list and regain its position as the top-selling premium car brand in Japan. As a result, Hino, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen all slipped down one position.

The only further top-20 rank order change was Peugeot moving into the top 20 from 22nd. Similarly, Land Rover regained 25th place from Smart.

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2018 (Q1)

The ten best-selling car models in Japan during the first three months of 2018 according to JADA were:

20172018BrandModelQ1/2018Jan 2018Feb 2018Mar 2018
11NissanNote45,56913,76912,44419,356
22ToyotaPrius36,45911,5079,26415,688
43ToyotaAqua34,68611,1678,74114,778
54NissanSerena33,31110,4087,82315,080
105ToyotaVoxy28,1438,2087,46812,467
96HondaFit27,9058,3897,01312,503
77ToyotaSienta26,4818,3856,63511,461
68HondaFreed25,2478,1446,05011,053
39ToyotaC-HR24,1117,6275,49310,991
810ToyotaVitz22,3797,1225,12710,130
Source: JADA

Note: These numbers exclude Kei cars.

For the second consecutive year, the Nissan Note was the most-popular car model in Japan during the first quarter of the year. The Toyota Prius was again second.

The Toyota Aqua and Nissan Serena both moved up one position as last years number three – the Toyota C-HR – slipped to ninth.

The Toyota Voxy moved from tenth to fifth while the Honda Fit moved up from ninth a year ago. The Toyota Sienta maintained seventh place. The Honda Freed slipped two places from a year ago, as did the Toyota Vitz.

No new models entered the top-ten list.

Best-Selling Mini Cars in Japan in 2018 (Q1)

The ten best-selling kei (mini) cars in Japan during the first quarter or 2018 were as follows according to the Zenkeijkyo:

20172018Car BrandModelQ1/2018Q1/2017% Change
11HondaN-BOX68,16563,1947.9
32NissanDays45,37046,379-2.2
53SuzukiSpacia42,73033,80226.4
44DaihatsuMove42,28638,01611.2
25DaihatsuTant40,81947,471-14
66SuzukiWagon R35,91729,40422.2
107Daihatsumirror26,99718,54845.6
78SuzukiAlto24,00228,957-17.1
89HondaN-WGN22,10927,810-20.5
910SuzukiHustler17,55125,384-30.9

Kei or mini cars remain hugely popular in Japan with the Honda N-Box far outselling the Nissan Note during the first quarter of 2018. The Honda N-Box was also the top-selling kei car in 2017 while the Nissan Days replaced the Daihatsu Tant as the second most popular mini car in Japan during the first quarter of 2018.

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.