This data shows the future trend in imported cars with Toyota Aqua, Honda Fit and Toyota Prius occupying top 3 positions.
2014 (Q1) Japan: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Models
Posted on April 4, 2014 in Japan by Henk Bekker
Car sales in Japan increased by 20% during the first quarter of 2014. Toyota is still the leading brand while the Aqua narrowly outsold the Honda Fit.
The first quarter of 2014 saw new vehicle registrations in Japan increase by a fifth ahead of a sales tax increase in April. All manufacturers achieved higher sales at the start of 2014 in Japan with expensive foreign brands doing particularly well β Mercedes Benz sales increased by 50% with Porsche and BMW sales in Japan up by more than 40%. Toyota remains Japanβs leading motor vehicle manufacturer despite underperforming the market while Honda solidified its second place with a 40% increase in sales. The Toyota Aqua narrowly outsold the Honda Fit to remain Japanβs favorite car model ahead of the Prius.
The Japanese Vehicle Market in 2014 (Q1)
New vehicle registrations in Japan increased during the first three months of 2014 by 20.7% to 1,844,662 vehicles β these figures include passenger cars, buses, and trucks. All top 25 manufacturers recorded sales growth in Japan during the first quarter of 2014 with only two failing to achieve double-digit percentage growth.
Strong growth in the Japanese car market at the start of 2014 was widely expected, as sales tax in Japan is increasing on April 1, 2014, from 5% to 8%. A sharp cut back in car sales is expected in the second quarter of the year.
Japanese consumers are traditionally very sensitive to increases in consumption tax β the last tax hike in 1997 led to a deep recession. The tax rate is due to increase further to 10% in October 2015.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Japan in 2014 (Q1)
New vehicle registrations during the first three months of 2014 in Japan according to sales statistics released by JADA were as follows:
[TABLE="width: 628"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Manufacturer
[/TD]
[TD] Q1 / 2014
[/TD]
[TD] Q1 / 2013
[/TD]
[TD]% Change
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]Total
[/TD]
[TD] 1β844β662
[/TD]
[TD] 1β528β008
[/TD]
[TD]20.7
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]Toyota
[/TD]
[TD] 501β798
[/TD]
[TD] 440β450
[/TD]
[TD]13.9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]Honda
[/TD]
[TD] 299β180
[/TD]
[TD] 214β149
[/TD]
[TD]39.7
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]Nissan
[/TD]
[TD] 253β341
[/TD]
[TD] 213β123
[/TD]
[TD]18.9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]Daihatsu
[/TD]
[TD] 222β630
[/TD]
[TD] 183β949
[/TD]
[TD]21
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]Suzuki
[/TD]
[TD] 220β142
[/TD]
[TD] 193β531
[/TD]
[TD]13.8
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6
[/TD]
[TD]Mazda
[/TD]
[TD] 81β882
[/TD]
[TD] 66β512
[/TD]
[TD]23.1
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]Subaru
[/TD]
[TD] 59β910
[/TD]
[TD] 53β885
[/TD]
[TD]11.2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]Mitsubishi
[/TD]
[TD] 45β998
[/TD]
[TD] 41β780
[/TD]
[TD]10.1
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9
[/TD]
[TD]VW
[/TD]
[TD] 23β023
[/TD]
[TD] 18β148
[/TD]
[TD]26.9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD]Isuzu
[/TD]
[TD] 21β936
[/TD]
[TD] 16β819
[/TD]
[TD]30.4
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[TD]Mercedes-Benz
[/TD]
[TD] 17β834
[/TD]
[TD] 11β791
[/TD]
[TD]51.3
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]Hino
[/TD]
[TD] 17β668
[/TD]
[TD] 13β663
[/TD]
[TD]29.3
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13
[/TD]
[TD]Lexus
[/TD]
[TD] 14β854
[/TD]
[TD] 12β191
[/TD]
[TD]21.8
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14
[/TD]
[TD]BMW
[/TD]
[TD] 14β230
[/TD]
[TD] 10β011
[/TD]
[TD]42.2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15
[/TD]
[TD]Mitsubishi Fuso
[/TD]
[TD] 13β199
[/TD]
[TD] 8β504
[/TD]
[TD]55.2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16
[/TD]
[TD]Audi
[/TD]
[TD] 8β987
[/TD]
[TD] 7β441
[/TD]
[TD]20.8
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17
[/TD]
[TD]Volvo
[/TD]
[TD] 4β367
[/TD]
[TD] 3β293
[/TD]
[TD]32.6
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18
[/TD]
[TD]BMW MINI
[/TD]
[TD] 4β218
[/TD]
[TD] 4β037
[/TD]
[TD]4.5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19
[/TD]
[TD]UD Trucks
[/TD]
[TD] 3β315
[/TD]
[TD] 2β158
[/TD]
[TD]5.2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20
[/TD]
[TD]Fiat
[/TD]
[TD] 2β540
[/TD]
[TD] 1β190
[/TD]
[TD]13.4
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]21
[/TD]
[TD]Jeep
[/TD]
[TD] 1β868
[/TD]
[TD] 1β201
[/TD]
[TD]55.5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22
[/TD]
[TD]Peugeot
[/TD]
[TD] 1β744
[/TD]
[TD] 1β562
[/TD]
[TD]11.7
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23
[/TD]
[TD]Ford
[/TD]
[TD] 1β506
[/TD]
[TD] 1β125
[/TD]
[TD]33.9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]24
[/TD]
[TD]Renault
[/TD]
[TD] 1β482
[/TD]
[TD] 969
[/TD]
[TD]52.9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]Porsche
[/TD]
[TD] 1β431
[/TD]
[TD] 999
[/TD]
[TD]43.2
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
Top-Selling Car Brands in Japan in 2014 (Q1)
Toyota easily maintained its position as Japanβs leading vehicle manufacturer at the start of 2014 despite underperforming the broader market. In contrast, Honda achieved an increase in sales of nearly 40% to strengthen its hold on second place.
Nissan slightly underperformed but maintained its third place β a year ago, Nissan was only around a thousand vehicles behind Honda but the gap has now grown to almost 46,000 cars.
During the first quarter of 2014, Daihatsuβs sales increased inline with the market but allowed Toyotaβs sister company to overtake the underperforming Suzuki.
There were no other position changes amongst the top-ten best-selling brands in Japan in 2014 (Q1) although Subaru and Mitsubishi both underperformed the market by around 10%.
Mercedes Benz sales in Japan grew by 51% during the first three months of 2014 to overtake truck maker Hino and, more significantly, Lexus. BMW and Porsche also achieved strong growth while Audi sales increased inline with the broader market. However, total foreign car sales in Japan remain very low.
Top-10 Best-Selling Car Models in Japan in 2014 (Q1)
The ten most popular car models in Japan during the first quarter of 2014 according to car sales statistics released by JADA were:
[TABLE="width: 634"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Brand
[/TD]
[TD]Model
[/TD]
[TD] January
[/TD]
[TD] February
[/TD]
[TD] March
[/TD]
[TD] Q1 / 2014
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]Toyota
[/TD]
[TD]Aqua
[/TD]
[TD] 22β885
[/TD]
[TD] 23β973
[/TD]
[TD] 31β146
[/TD]
[TD] 78β004
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]Honda
[/TD]
[TD]Fit
[/TD]
[TD] 26β869
[/TD]
[TD] 18β303
[/TD]
[TD] 31β921
[/TD]
[TD] 77β093
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]Toyota
[/TD]
[TD]Prius
[/TD]
[TD] 20β162
[/TD]
[TD] 23β501
[/TD]
[TD] 28β274
[/TD]
[TD] 71β937
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]Nissan
[/TD]
[TD]Note
[/TD]
[TD] 10β334
[/TD]
[TD] 12β237
[/TD]
[TD] 17β319
[/TD]
[TD] 39β890
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]Toyota
[/TD]
[TD]Corolla
[/TD]
[TD] 10β868
[/TD]
[TD] 11β335
[/TD]
[TD] 15β654
[/TD]
[TD] 37β857
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6
[/TD]
[TD]Nissan
[/TD]
[TD]Serena
[/TD]
[TD] 9β910
[/TD]
[TD] 10β496
[/TD]
[TD] 10β966
[/TD]
[TD] 31β372
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]Toyota
[/TD]
[TD]Vitz
[/TD]
[TD] 6β732
[/TD]
[TD] 8β386
[/TD]
[TD] 11β890
[/TD]
[TD] 27β008
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]Nissan
[/TD]
[TD]X-TRAIL
[/TD]
[TD] 6β616
[/TD]
[TD] 7β554
[/TD]
[TD] 9β093
[/TD]
[TD] 23β263
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9
[/TD]
[TD]Subaru
[/TD]
[TD]Impreza
[/TD]
[TD] 5β262
[/TD]
[TD] 5β360
[/TD]
[TD] 9β632
[/TD]
[TD] 20β254
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD]Honda
[/TD]
[TD]Vezel
[/TD]
[TD] 6β235
[/TD]
[TD] 4β257
[/TD]
[TD] 8β649
[/TD]
[TD] 19β141
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
Note these figures exclude Kei minicars.
The Toyota Aqua managed to remain Japanβs favorite car during the first three months of 2014. However, the new Honda Fit has been selling very well and was less than a thousand cars behind the Aqua largely due to shortages in February.
The larger Toyota Prius remains very popular in Japan with the top-three best-selling car models noticeable ahead of the rest. The Nissan Note, evergreen Toyota Corolla, Nissan Serena and Toyota Vitz are regulars on the top-ten best-sellers list in Japan.
The Nissan X-Trail and Subaru Impreza are more commonly in the 10 to 20 grouping. The Honda Vezel β a crossover β is the only truly newcomer having been launched as a completely new car in December 2013.