2026 (Q1): Toyota, Suzuki, and Honda remained the best-selling vehicle manufacturers and top car brands in Japan. The Toyota Yaris was the most popular car model, and the Honda N-Box was Japan’s favorite kei mini car.
Japan’s total new vehicle market, including cars, buses, and commercial vehicles (trucks), contracted by 2.5% during the first quarter of 2026 to 1,253,357 vehicles compared to 1,285,352 during the first three months of 2025. Most of the largest brands, including Toyota, lost market share. Daihatsu was the most improved car brand, while Mitsubishi (both cars and trucks) also recovered well. Mercedes-Benz remained the top-selling foreign car brand in Japan. The Toyota Yaris was again the best-selling car model in Japan in 2026 (Q1), and the Honda N-Box was the favorite Kei minicar.
Latest Japan Car Sales Statistics: 2025 — Brands, Models, Minicars; Data for 2025 – 2009.
Best-Selling Vehicle Brands in Japan in 2026 (Q1)
Japan’s largest vehicle manufacturers, including car, trucks, and bus sales, during the first quarter of 2026, according to JADA, were:
| R | Brand | Sales 2026 (Q1) | Sales 2025 (Q1) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | 1,253,357 | 1,285,352 | -2.5 | |
| 1 | Toyota | 368,900 | 392,745 | -6.1 |
| 2 | Suzuki | 197,094 | 201,038 | -2 |
| 3 | Honda | 173,864 | 184,055 | -5.5 |
| 4 | Daihatsu | 156,787 | 132,590 | 18.2 |
| 5 | Nissan | 129,045 | 133,337 | -3.2 |
| 6 | Mazda | 43,501 | 49,284 | -11.7 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi | 38,121 | 33,193 | 14.8 |
| 8 | Subaru | 25,068 | 31,957 | -21.6 |
| 9 | Isuzu | 21,952 | 20,779 | 5.6 |
| 10 | Lexus | 18,603 | 21,373 | -13 |
| 11 | Mercedes-Benz | 11,792 | 12,995 | -9.3 |
| 12 | Hino | 9,713 | 10,861 | -10.6 |
| 13 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 9,124 | 7,502 | 21.6 |
| 14 | BMW | 7,273 | 8,958 | -18.8 |
| 15 | VW | 6,567 | 9,875 | -33.5 |
| 16 | Audi | 5,157 | 5,264 | -2 |
| 17 | BMW MINI | 4,479 | 4,765 | -6 |
| 18 | UDTrucks | 3,617 | 3,602 | 0.4 |
| 19 | Volvo | 3,121 | 3,054 | 2.2 |
| 20 | Porsche | 2,852 | 3,258 | -12.5 |
| 21 | Land Rover | 2,007 | 2,676 | -25 |
| 22 | Jeep | 1,565 | 2,286 | -31.5 |
| 23 | Peugeot | 1,549 | 1,652 | -6.2 |
| 24 | BYD | 1,271 | 605 | 110.1 |
| 25 | Renault | 996 | 1,020 | -2.4 |
| 26 | Fiat | 760 | 899 | -15.5 |
| 27 | Citroen | 748 | 772 | -3.1 |
| 28 | Alfa Romeo | 502 | 224 | 124.1 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 333 | 335 | -0.6 |
| 30 | Hyundai | 291 | 132 | 120.5 |
| Source: JADA |
Based on sales data released by JADA.
Japan’s Largest Car Brands in 2026 (Q1)
Toyota easily maintained its position as Japan’s leading vehicle manufacturer and top-selling car brand, but its weak performance dragged the entire market down. The loss in sales volume by Toyota represented 75% of the 32,000 fewer vehicles sold in Japan in the first three months of the year.
Second-placed Suzuki also had weaker sales but gained a little market share by narrowly outperforming the total Japanese vehicle market. Honda was again third in Japan despite weaker sales.
Daihatsu was the best-performing car brand in Japan in the first quarter of 2026 — it increased sales by 18% or over 24,000 vehicles — more than the contraction suffered by Toyota (which owns Daihatsu). Daihatsu moved ahead of Nissan, which had weaker sales.
Mazda, Subaru, and Lexus all had double-digit declines in sales in Japan at the start of 2026.
Toyota’s commercial vehicle brand, Hino, had weaker sales, while Mitsubishi Fuso was the most improved top-20 brand in Japan thus far in 2026.
Best-Selling Foreign Car Brands in Japan in 2026 (Q1)
The sales volumes of foreign car brands in Japan remain very low. During the first three months of 2026, almost all import brands had weaker sales.
Mercedes-Benz was again the best-selling foreign car brand in Japan, but sales were down by almost 10%. Second-place BMW performed even worse, while Volkswagen sales in Japan were down by a third during the first quarter of 2026.
Chinese car brand BYD more than doubled registrations in Japan and entered the top 25. However, the actual numbers remain very low — less than 0.35% of Toyota’s volume. South Korean car brand Hyundai, similarly, entered the top 30 but was outsold by Ferrari in Japan.
→ Japan’s favorite car models in 2026 (Q1) were the same as in full-year 2025: the Toyota Yaris compact car and the Honda N-Box kei mini car.