2023 (Q1) Japan: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers, Brands and Models

2023 (Q1): New car sales in Japan increased by 15% with Toyota as the best-selling brand while the Yaris and Corolla were the favorite models on the Japanese new car market and the Honda N-Box the top-selling minicar.

Toyota Corolla © Toyota

During the first quarter of 2023, the Japanese new vehicle market expanded by 15% to 1,381,558 vehicles — still well below the long-term average. Toyota was the leading car brand and increased sales by 28%. The Toyota Yaris was the top-selling car model in Japan followed by the evergreen Toyota Corolla. The Honda N-Box was the favorite minicar (kei) in Japan and during the first quarter of 2023 outsold the Yaris too.

Latest Japan Car Sales Statistics: 2023 — Brands, Models, Minicars; Data for 2022 – 2009.

Japanese New Vehicle Market in 2023 (Q1)

New vehicle registrations in Japan increased by 15.4% to 1,381,558 vehicles compared to 1,197,229 during the first three months of 2022. Sales were still lower than the 1,429,743 registered at the start of 2021 but better than the 1,371,726 sold during the first quarter of 2020. The long-run average for vehicle sales in Japan during the first quarter of the year has been above or near 1.5 million units.

These numbers include all motorized vehicles including cars, minicars, trucks, and buses.

Best-Selling Car Brands and Manufacturers in Japan in 2023 (Q1)

The 25 top-selling vehicle manufacturers in Japan during the first quarter of 2023 were as follows:

	Marque	Q1/2023	% 22/23
	Total	1,381,558	15.4
1	Toyota	465,710	27.9
2	Suzuki	181,260	15.6
3	Daihatsu	176,285	19.0
4	Honda	167,008	-4.2
5	Nissan	144,207	3.6
6	Mazda	57,294	6.0
7	Subaru	28,543	9.0
8	Mitsubishi	28,258	5.8
9	Lexus	28,137	141.8
10	Isuzu	19,071	80.0
11	Mercedes Benz	13,133	2.6
12	Hino	10,931	-29.9
13	Mitusbishi Fuso	8,717	24.2
14	BMW	8,436	11.3
15	VW	6,644	-10.9
16	Audi	6,571	48.8
17	BMW Mini	4,616	-8.6
18	Volvo	4,240	9.5
19	Jeep	2,950	47.1
20	UD Trucks	2,675	21.3
21	Renault	2,529	16.0
22	Peugeot	2,520	21.7
23	Porsche	2,066	-1.7
24	Land Rover	2,038	60.6
25	Citroen	1,743	23.9
	Source: Jada

Top Car Brands in Japan in 2023 (Q1)

The recovery in the Japanese new car market was led by the top three manufacturers. The market leader Toyota, increased sales by 28% while Suzuki and Daihatsu also outperformed the general market.

Honda was the only top-ten brand with weaker car sales at the start of 2023. Only five brands sold fewer cars in Japan thus far this year compared to the first quarter of 2023: Honda, Hino, Volkswagen, Mini, and Porsche.

Lexus was the best-performing car brand in Japan thus far in 2023 with sales up by 142% while commercial vehicle specialist Isuzu increased sales by 80%.

Mercedes-Benz remained the largest foreign car brand in Japan followed by BMW and VW.

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2023 (Q1)

The ten best-selling car models in Japan during the first quarter of 2023 were as follows:

	Make	Model	Q1/2023	January	February	March
1	Toyota	Yaris	52,854	14,772	15,760	22,322
2	Toyota	Corolla	50,605	14,463	14,738	21,404
3	Toyota	Sienta	37,131	11,038	11,767	14,326
4	Nissan	Note	36,751	9,875	10,709	16,167
5	Toyota	Roomy	28,988	7,674	8,645	12,669
6	Toyota	Voxy	26,522	7,068	8,523	10,931
7	Toyota	Noah	26,361	6,859	8,518	10,984
8	Toyota	Aqua	26,266	7,130	8,191	10,945
9	Honda	Freed	25,071	5,808	7,071	12,192
10	Toyota	Harrier	23,750	4,879	7,843	11,028
	Source: Jada

The Toyota Yaris and the evergreen Toyota Corolla were the most popular car models in Japan every month thus far in 2023. The third-best-selling car model in Japan during the first quarter of 2023 was the Toyota Sienta.

Eight of the top-ten models in Japan during the first three months of 2023 were Toyotas. The only other brands with top-selling cars were the Nissan Note at fourth and the Honda Freed at ninth.

Best-Selling Kei Minicars in Japan in 2023 (Q1)

The five top-selling Kei (minicars) in Japan during the first quarter of 2023 were:

	Brand	Model	Q1/2023	% Change
	Total Mini Vehicles		503,667	12.1
1	Honda	N-BOX	67,255	8.9
2	Suzuki	Spacia	33,116	46.4
3	Daihatsu	Tanto	42,324	57.1
4	Nissan	Roox	27,288	37.1
5	Daihatsu	Move	32,871	53.6
	Source: Zenkeijikyo

As is often the case in Japan, the best-selling Kei minicar in Japan outsold the top-selling standard car model by quite a distance. Although Honda has been struggling with lower car sales, the Honda N-Box remained the favorite mini car by far.

The total mini-vehicle market in Japan expanded by 12.1% — slightly less than the overall vehicle market during the first three months of 2023.