2026 (First Half) Japan: Best-Selling Car Models and Kei Minicars

2026 (Q1 + Q2): The Toyota Yaris and Corolla were Japan’s favorite car models, but the Honda N-Box and other minicars outsold both.

Toyota continued its dominance of the Japanese new car market by supplying the five best-selling car models during the first half of 2026. The Toyota Yaris remained Japan’s favorite car model, but the Sienta moved ahead of the Corolla. The best-selling kei minicars were the Honda N-Box, Suzuki Spacia, and Daihatsu Move. In the first half of 2026, the Japanese new-vehicle market expanded by 1.8% to 2,387,189 vehicles, with Toyota the top-selling car brand in Japan.

Latest Japan Car Sales Statistics: 2026 (HY): Brands, Models; 2026(Q3): Brands, Models; 2025: Brands, Models, Minicars; Data for 2025 – 2009.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2026 (Half Year)

The 30 best-selling car models in Japan, excluding kei minicars, according to JADA, in the first half year 2026 were:

R	Brand	Model	ブランド通称名	2026 (HY)	% Change
1	Toyota	Yaris	ヤリス	72,236	-16.9
2	Toyota	Sienta	シエンタ	62,805	10.4
3	Toyota	Corolla	カローラ	62,778	-16.3
4	Toyota	Raise	ライズ	61,946	28.3
5	Toyota	Roomy	ルーミー	52,342	16.6
6	Honda	Freed	フリード	48,303	-1.6
7	Toyota	Voxy	ヴォクシー	46,813	18.3
8	Toyota	Alphard	アルファード	43,819	-2
9	Toyota	Noah	ノア	42,488	4.4
10	Honda	Vezel	ヴェゼル	37,133	16.8
11	Nissan	Note	ノート	35,867	-17.2
12	Toyota	Aqua	アクア	35,137	-16.2
13	Nissan	Serena	セレナ	34,598	-11.1
14	Honda	Step wagon	ステップワゴン	32,780	13.6
15	Suzuki	Jimny	ジムニー	32,316	60.7
16	Toyota	Land Cruiser	ランドクルーザー	31,146	33.5
17	Toyota	RAV4	ＲＡＶ４	29,222	116.1
18	Suzuki	Solio	ソリオ	28,596	-1.8
19	Toyota	Prius	プリウス	26,943	-35.1
20	Toyota	Harrier	ハリアー	25,790	-15.3
21	Honda	Fit	フィット	24,672	-0.2
22	Toyota	Crown	クラウン	22,316	-22.7
23	Mitsubishi	Delica D5	デリカＤ５	18,130	37.7
24	Mazda	CX-5	ＣＸ－５	16,988	32.8
25	Toyota	Vellfire	ヴェルファイア	15,922	1.3
26	Subaru	Impreza	インプレッサ	14,598	-8.7
27	Toyota	bZ4X	ｂＺ４Ｘ	13,777	6858.1
28	Subaru	Forester	フォレスター	13,415	-2.8
29	Mazda	2	ＭＡＺＤＡ２	13,113	6
30	Suzuki	Xbee	クロスビー	12,697	132.3

Note: Based on car sales data released by JADA.

Japan’s Favorite Car Models in 2026 (Half Year)

Toyota maintained its traditional dominance of the Japanese new car market during the first half of 2026. Of the top 30 best-selling car models in Japan during the first semester, 16 were made by Toyota, including 8 of the top 10 best-selling models, and the five most popular car models.

The Toyota Yaris remained Japan’s favorite car model despite weaker sales. Sienta sales increased by ten percent to take second place from the evergreen Toyota Corolla, which slipped to third.

The Honda Freed (6th) and Honda Vezel (10th) were the only top-ten cars in Japan not made by Toyota.

Japanese car buyers traditionally respond quickly to new launches and model changes. Car sales increase sharply after a major change and drop back just as quickly a year later.

The most-improved models were the Toyota bZ4X and Suzuki Xbee (say Cross-Bee) but volume numbers were more significant for the Toyota RAV4 and the Suzuki Jimny.

An interesting car is the Suzuki Jimny. It is better known as a kei car (see below), but the larger five-door version is sold in Japan as a regular compact car and is thus included in these statistics. More significantly, this larger version of the Jimny is produced in India, which made Suzuki the largest car importer in Japan by volume in recent months.

Top 15 Best-Selling Kei Minicar Models in Japan in 2026 (HY)

The top-selling minicar models in Japan in 2026 (January to June), according to Zenkeijkyo were:

R	Brand	Model	2026 (HY)	2025 (HY)	% Change
1	Honda	N-BOX	102,419	103,435	-1
2	Suzuki	Spacia	83,229	84,322	-1.3
3	Daihatsu	Move	63,272	50,864	24.4
4	Daihatsu	Tanto	62,419	65,362	-4.5
5	Nissan	Roox	53,173	36,899	44.1
6	Suzuki	Hustler	47,004	47,197	-0.4
7	Mitsubishi	Delica Mini / eK	32,415	28,950	112
8	Suzuki	Wagon R	32,160	38,450	-16.4
9	Daihatsu	Mira	29,385	29,339	0.2
10	Suzuki	Alto	25,742	30,389	-15.3
11	Nissan	Days	21,583	22,654	-4.7
12	Daihatsu	Taft	21,246	27,835	-23.7
13	Suzuki	Jimny	15,974	26,984	-40.8
14	Suzuki	Every Wagon	11,915	10,035	18.7
15	Honda	N-WGN	11,623	14,353	-19

Note: Based on minicar sales data released by Zenkeijkyo.

The total market for kei minivehicles in Japan expanded by a moderate 1.3% to 856,776 vehicles during the first half of 2026.

The Honda N-Box and Suzuki Spacia remained the most popular minicars in Japan despite weaker sales in a growing market. Daihatsu continued its recovery from a testing scandal, with sales sharply up for the Move while Tanto sales were only moderately lower.

The Nissan Roox and Mitsubishi e K also increased sales strongly.

The worst performer was the Suzuki Jimny. While the three-door version is a kei minicar, the larger 5-door versions are included in the regular car sales data — see above — where the Jimny took a model record 15th place during the first six months of 2026.

If regular car models and minicar models were combined, both the Honda N-Box and Suzuki Spacia outsold the Toyota Yaris in Japan during the first semester of 2026.

→ As usual, Toyota was the top-selling car brand in Japan in the first half of 2026.