Lexus sales more than triple year-on-year in February.
New vehicle sales in Japan soar 20.3% year-on-year in February to 426,726 units, however keep in mind February 2022 was off -18% on the year prior. The year-to-date volume is now up 18.2% to 809,064. Toyota (+48%) posts a whopping uptick to a tremendous 34.3% share, its highest since July 2021 (35.8%). It is now up to almost exactly one third of the entire market year-to-date (33.4%). The Top 6 brands are unchanged on January and Full Year 2022 with Suzuki at +22% to 13.5% share but all the rest lose share year-on-year as they trail the market. Daihatsu (+13.6%) fares the best, followed by Nissan (+2.3%) but Honda (-6%) and Mazda (-6.9%) can’t take advantage of the ambient growth and endure year-on-year sales declines. Lexus (+234.9%) enjoys a surreal gain and climbs to #7 vs. #9 traditionally. Isuzu (+77.7%) is also extremely strong but stays at #10. Among foreigners and in order of sales, BMW (+30.4%), Volvo (+39.8%), Citroen (+33.8%) and DS (+117.3%) stand out.
In the regular car ranking, Toyota has 9 models in the Top 10. The Yaris/Coss (+51.3%) outpaces the market to hold onto the top spot above the Toyota Corolla/Cross (+16.6%) which was #1 a year ago. The Toyota Sienta (+230.9%) follows with a new generation-fuelled performance. The Nissan Note (+9.4%) is the only non-Toyota in the Top 10 but is weak as is the Toyota Roomy (-23%) just below. All remaining models in the Top 10 beat the market: the Toyota Voxy (+311.1%), Noah (+282.5%), Harrier (+233.6%), Prius (+130.9%, now with a new generation) and to a lesser extent Aqua (+29.7%) are all in great shape. Further down and justifying the brand’s surge this month, notice the Lexus NX350H up 663.7% year-on-year and the NX250 up 3397%.
Looking at kei cars, the Honda N-BOX (-1.6%) remains the best-selling vehicle outright in the country despite a year-on-year drop. It distances the Daihatsu Tanto (+42.6%), Move (+91.7%), Suzuki Spacia (+40.6%) and Nissan Roox (+31.7%) all outpacing the market. The Nissan Sakura is down one spot on January to #12 while the Mitsubishi eK Cross EV remains at #20.
Previous month: Japan January 2023: Toyota up to 32.4% share in very dynamic market (+16%)
One year ago: Japan February 2022: Honda (-2.1%), Mazda (+2.7%) resist, Toyota Corolla #1 in market off -18%
Full February 2023 Top 50 all brands, Top 50 regular models and Top 35 all kei cars below.
Japan February 2023 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Feb-23 | % | /22 | Jan | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Toyota | 146,296 | 34.3% | 48.0% | 1 | 270,222 | 33.4% | 32.2% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Suzuki | 57,543 | 13.5% | 22.0% | 2 | 113,310 | 14.0% | 23.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Daihatsu | 54,617 | 12.8% | 13.6% | 3 | 108,773 | 13.4% | 17.5% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Honda | 49,891 | 11.7% | -6.0% | 4 | 94,911 | 11.7% | -5.9% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nissan | 44,659 | 10.5% | 2.3% | 5 | 83,892 | 10.4% | 12.1% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Mazda | 17,254 | 4.0% | -6.9% | 6 | 33,073 | 4.1% | 5.3% | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Lexus | 9,525 | 2.2% | 234.9% | 9 | 15,808 | 2.0% | 108.2% | 9 | 12 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi | 8,257 | 1.9% | 5.3% | 8 | 16,362 | 2.0% | 9.1% | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Subaru | 7,180 | 1.7% | 15.2% | 7 | 16,193 | 2.0% | 27.3% | 8 | 7 |
| 10 | Isuzu | 5,626 | 1.3% | 77.7% | 10 | 9,747 | 1.2% | 63.9% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Mercedes | 3,673 | 0.9% | 6.1% | 11 | 7,370 | 0.9% | 2.0% | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Hino | 3,290 | 0.8% | -30.1% | 12 | 5,933 | 0.7% | -31.2% | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | BMW | 3,075 | 0.7% | 30.4% | 16 | 4,623 | 0.6% | 11.1% | 13 | 14 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 2,620 | 0.6% | 17.1% | 14 | 4,584 | 0.6% | 10.2% | 14 | 15 |
| 15 | Audi | 1,924 | 0.5% | 22.7% | 13 | 3,893 | 0.5% | 37.7% | 15 | 16 |
| 16 | Volkswagen | 1,869 | 0.4% | -18.9% | 15 | 3,654 | 0.5% | -16.2% | 16 | 13 |
| 17 | Volvo | 1,462 | 0.3% | 39.8% | 18 | 2,348 | 0.3% | 21.5% | 17 | 18 |
| 18 | Mini | 1,125 | 0.3% | -21.8% | 17 | 2,124 | 0.3% | -13.8% | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Jeep | 840 | 0.2% | 23.3% | 20 | 1,602 | 0.2% | 20.8% | 19 | 19 |
| 20 | Porsche | 760 | 0.2% | 11.6% | 24 | 1,264 | 0.2% | -1.0% | 23 | 23 |
| 21 | UD Trucks | 757 | 0.2% | 18.8% | 21 | 1,435 | 0.2% | 30.6% | 20 | 20 |
| 22 | Renault | 725 | 0.2% | 6.1% | 22 | 1,333 | 0.2% | 9.4% | 22 | 21 |
| 23 | Peugeot | 631 | 0.1% | -1.3% | 19 | 1,417 | 0.2% | 10.1% | 21 | 22 |
| 24 | Citroen | 535 | 0.1% | 33.8% | 25 | 890 | 0.1% | 9.9% | 25 | 25 |
| 25 | Land Rover | 440 | 0.1% | -6.0% | 23 | 946 | 0.1% | 17.8% | 24 | 26 |
| 26 | Fiat | 295 | 0.1% | -49.6% | 26 | 624 | 0.1% | -42.1% | 26 | 24 |
| 27 | DS | 113 | 0.0% | 117.3% | 39 | 139 | 0.0% | 63.5% | 30 | 33 |
| 28 | Alfa Romeo | 104 | 0.0% | -17.5% | 27 | 222 | 0.0% | -8.3% | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 104 | 0.0% | 31.6% | 29 | 194 | 0.0% | 16.2% | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | Maserati | 79 | 0.0% | 21.5% | 33 | 130 | 0.0% | -9.1% | 32 | 30 |
| 31 | Cadillac | 74 | 0.0% | 76.2% | 32 | 125 | 0.0% | 62.3% | 33 | 32 |
| 32 | Hyundai | 70 | 0.0% | 250.0% | 36 | 102 | 0.0% | 161.5% | 35 | 37 |
| 33 | Lamborghini | 69 | 0.0% | 38.0% | 37 | 100 | 0.0% | 11.1% | 36 | 36 |
| 34 | Abarth | 66 | 0.0% | -70.3% | 30 | 136 | 0.0% | -62.4% | 31 | 27 |
| 35 | Chevrolet | 59 | 0.0% | -9.2% | 31 | 113 | 0.0% | 14.1% | 34 | 34 |
| 36 | BYD | 56 | 0.0% | new | 34 | 93 | 0.0% | new | 37 | 48 |
| 37 | Jaguar | 53 | 0.0% | -53.9% | 28 | 147 | 0.0% | -39.3% | 29 | 31 |
| 38 | Bentley | 34 | 0.0% | 9.7% | 35 | 67 | 0.0% | 1.5% | 38 | 35 |
| 39 | Ford | 33 | 0.0% | -29.8% | 41 | 51 | 0.0% | -32.0% | 40 | 39 |
| 40 | Dodge | 29 | 0.0% | -35.6% | 40 | 47 | 0.0% | -31.9% | 41 | 38 |
| 41 | Aston Martin | 28 | 0.0% | 64.7% | 38 | 58 | 0.0% | 34.9% | 39 | 40 |
| 42 | Rolls-Royce | 24 | 0.0% | 20.0% | 43 | 42 | 0.0% | 10.5% | 42 | 43 |
| 43 | Scania | 19 | 0.0% | 46.2% | 44 | 37 | 0.0% | 15.6% | 43 | 41 |
| 44 | Alpina | 18 | 0.0% | -53.8% | 45 | 23 | 0.0% | -47.7% | 45 | 42 |
| 45 | McLaren | 10 | 0.0% | 25.0% | 42 | 28 | 0.0% | 55.6% | 44 | 45 |
| 46 | Morgan | 4 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 47 | 8 | 0.0% | 14.3% | 46 | 49 |
| 47 | Unimog | 3 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 3 | 0.0% | n/a | 50 | 57 |
| 48 | Pontiac | 2 | 0.0% | 100.0% | – | 2 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 51 | 52 |
| 49 | Buick | 1 | 0.0% | -50.0% | 48 | 4 | 0.0% | 33.3% | 48 | 54 |
| 50 | Lancia | 1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | – | 1 | 0.0% | -50.0% | 53 | 51 |
| – | Others | 804 | 0.2% | 254.2% | – | 852 | 0.1% | 240.8% | – | – |
Japan February 2023 – regular cars:
| Pos | Model | Feb-23 | /22 | Jan | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Toyota Yaris/Cross | 15,760 | 51.3% | 1 | 30,532 | 6.8% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Toyota Corolla/Cross | 14,738 | 16.6% | 2 | 29,201 | 15.4% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Toyota Sienta | 11,767 | 230.9% | 3 | 22,805 | 225.3% | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Nissan Note | 10,709 | 9.4% | 4 | 20,584 | 13.3% | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Toyota Roomy | 8,645 | -23.0% | 5 | 16,319 | -25.6% | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | Toyota Voxy | 8,523 | 311.1% | 7 | 15,591 | 305.3% | 6 | 13 |
| 7 | Toyota Noah | 8,518 | 282.5% | 8 | 15,377 | 296.6% | 7 | 11 |
| 8 | Toyota Aqua | 8,191 | 29.7% | 6 | 15,321 | -5.3% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Toyota Harrier | 7,843 | 233.6% | 11 | 12,722 | 135.5% | 10 | 18 |
| 10 | Toyota Prius | 7,681 | 130.9% | 19 | 10,895 | 75.2% | 13 | 20 |
| 11 | Honda Freed | 7,071 | -3.0% | 9 | 12,879 | 6.2% | 9 | 6 |
| 12 | Toyota RAV4 | 6,588 | 114.5% | 12 | 11,338 | 132.0% | 12 | 22 |
| 13 | Toyota Alphard | 6,214 | 36.5% | 10 | 11,358 | 23.5% | 11 | 10 |
| 14 | Toyota Land Cruiser W | 5,534 | 135.8% | 16 | 9,589 | 99.4% | 16 | 17 |
| 15 | Honda Fit | 5,531 | 3.2% | 17 | 9,523 | -0.9% | 17 | 9 |
| 16 | Toyota Raize | 5,409 | -45.4% | 15 | 9,856 | -46.4% | 14 | 5 |
| 17 | Suzuki Solio | 4,931 | 71.9% | 13 | 9,634 | 47.4% | 15 | 15 |
| 18 | Nissan Serena | 4,539 | -24.1% | 18 | 8,050 | -24.7% | 19 | 12 |
| 19 | Mazda CX-60 | 4,375 | new | 21 | 7,398 | new | 20 | n/a |
| 20 | Honda Vezel | 4,375 | 14.3% | 22 | 7,292 | -10.2% | 21 | 14 |
| 21 | Toyota Crown | 3,581 | 135.9% | 14 | 8,079 | 158.6% | 18 | 31 |
| 22 | Lexus NX350H | 3,559 | 663.7% | 32 | 5,185 | 211.2% | 24 | n/a |
| 23 | Toyota Passo | 3,365 | 15.8% | 23 | 5,997 | 14.5% | 23 | 19 |
| 24 | Honda StepWGN | 2,926 | 13.1% | 20 | 6,005 | 11.5% | 22 | 16 |
| 25 | Nissan X-Trail | 2,616 | 182.2% | 36 | 4,133 | 139.7% | 27 | 29 |
| 26 | Suzuki Swift | 2,290 | 1.0% | 27 | 4,248 | -5.6% | 26 | 23 |
| 27 | Mazda CX-30 | 2,215 | 3.9% | 30 | 3,851 | -0.1% | 29 | 34 |
| 28 | Suzuki Jimny Wagon | 2,207 | 32.7% | 24 | 4,571 | 70.9% | 25 | 30 |
| 29 | Daihatsu Rocky | 2,002 | -1.1% | 34 | 3,621 | -9.4% | 31 | 27 |
| 30 | Subaru Forester | 1,752 | 12.9% | 25 | 4,090 | 26.1% | 28 | 24 |
| 31 | Mazda2 | 1,629 | -46.8% | 26 | 3,633 | -25.6% | 30 | 25 |
| 32 | Mitsubishi Delica D5 | 1,579 | -6.2% | 35 | 3,150 | 14.8% | 32 | 33 |
| 33 | Subaru Impreza | 1,488 | 52.1% | 29 | 3,126 | 47.5% | 33 | 26 |
| 34 | Toyota C-HR | 1,454 | 79.3% | 41 | 2,636 | 40.0% | 37 | 42 |
| 35 | Mazda3 | 1,380 | -25.8% | 38 | 2,675 | -12.2% | 35 | 36 |
| 36 | Suzuki Xbee | 1,338 | 143.3% | 40 | 2,566 | 71.1% | 38 | 41 |
| 37 | Honda Civic | 1,260 | 50.9% | 44 | 2,296 | 34.0% | 42 | 47 |
| 38 | Nissan Leaf | 1,254 | -19.5% | 31 | 2,883 | 1.8% | 34 | 40 |
| 39 | Daihatsu Thor | 1,254 | 35.6% | 42 | 2,375 | 23.4% | 40 | 43 |
| 40 | Mazda CX-5 | 1,209 | -66.4% | 37 | 2,637 | -54.8% | 36 | 21 |
| 41 | Lexus NX250 | 1,154 | 3397.0% | 47 | 1,929 | 841.0% | 45 | n/a |
| 42 | Nissan Kicks | 1,120 | -60.8% | 46 | 1,908 | -66.8% | 46 | 28 |
| 43 | Toyota 86 | 1,062 | 10.7% | 49 | 1,760 | -30.0% | 47 | 37 |
| 44 | Mazda MX-5 (Roadster) | 998 | -11.6% | 50 | 1,656 | -26.4% | 48 | 45 |
| 45 | Toyota Hiace W | 927 | 60.1% | 43 | 2,002 | 70.7% | 44 | 46 |
| 46 | Subaru Levorg | 894 | 331.9% | 33 | 2,515 | 871.0% | 39 | 35 |
| 47 | Mazda CX-8 | 781 | -73.0% | 39 | 2,019 | -46.0% | 43 | 39 |
| 48 | Toyota Camry | 751 | 49.9% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 49 | Lexus RX500H | 732 | new | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | n/a |
| 50 | Lexus UX250H | 704 | 109.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Japan February 2023 – kei cars:
| Pos | Model | Feb-23 | /22 | Jan | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Honda N-BOX | 19,652 | -1.6% | 1 | 39,444 | 0.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Daihatsu Tanto | 12,743 | 42.6% | 2 | 27,073 | 60.0% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Daihatsu Move | 10,041 | 91.7% | 3 | 20,279 | 54.6% | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Suzuki Spacia | 9,790 | 40.6% | 4 | 19,979 | 60.1% | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Nissan Roox | 9,140 | 37.3% | 5 | 17,096 | 156.7% | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Suzuki WagonR | 7,299 | 9.7% | 7 | 14,456 | 15.0% | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | Suzuki Alto | 6,475 | 5.5% | 8 | 11,928 | 4.5% | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Daihatsu Taft | 6,065 | 1.3% | 10 | 10,853 | 2.7% | 9 | 10 |
| 9 | Suzuki Hustler | 5,611 | 1.2% | 6 | 12,791 | 25.2% | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | Daihatsu Mira | 5,153 | -18.4% | 9 | 10,054 | -6.7% | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Honda N-WGN | 4,196 | -1.2% | 12 | 7,886 | 11.2% | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Nissan Sakura | 4,109 | new | 11 | 8,322 | new | 11 | 15 |
| 13 | Suzuki Jimny | 3,118 | -16.3% | 13 | 5,858 | -20.6% | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi eK | 2,318 | -8.5% | 14 | 4,501 | 3.7% | 14 | 14 |
| 15 | Nissan Dayz | 2,181 | -65.8% | 15 | 4,259 | -63.1% | 15 | 11 |
| 16 | Suzuki Every Wagon | 2,142 | 94.9% | 16 | 4,113 | 60.0% | 16 | 18 |
| 17 | Honda N-ONE | 1,552 | -17.1% | 18 | 2,821 | -17.9% | 18 | 16 |
| 18 | Daihatsu Cast | 1,432 | 68.5% | 17 | 2,866 | 25.7% | 17 | 19 |
| 19 | Mazda Flair Wagon | 1,149 | 109.3% | 19 | 2,292 | 74.6% | 19 | 20 |
| 20 | Mitsubishi eK Cross EV | 1,074 | new | 20 | 1,938 | new | 20 | 26 |
| 21 | Toyota Pixis | 812 | -28.9% | 21 | 1,515 | -42.2% | 21 | 17 |
| 22 | Mazda Flair Crossover | 555 | 19.9% | 23 | 1,056 | 17.7% | 22 | 22 |
| 23 | Nissan NV100 Clipper Rio | 534 | 23.0% | 24 | 1,017 | 18.3% | 23 | 24 |
| 24 | Daihatsu Copen | 488 | 32.6% | 22 | 1,009 | 34.2% | 24 | 23 |
| 25 | Mazda Flair | 376 | 23.3% | 26 | 739 | 12.3% | 26 | 27 |
| 26 | Mazda Carol | 374 | 62.6% | 27 | 686 | 106.6% | 27 | 29 |
| 27 | Subaru Chiffon | 362 | 0.6% | 25 | 763 | 20.3% | 25 | 25 |
| 28 | Subaru Stella | 296 | 63.5% | 28 | 562 | 38.4% | 28 | 28 |
| 29 | Subaru Pleo | 234 | -16.7% | 29 | 418 | -17.2% | 29 | 30 |
| 30 | Toyota Copen GR Sport | 115 | 0.0% | 31 | 233 | -9.0% | 31 | 32 |
| 31 | Mazda Scrum Wagon | 107 | -14.4% | 30 | 243 | 0.8% | 30 | 33 |
| 32 | Mitsubishi Town Box | 50 | -3.8% | 32 | 83 | -17.8% | 32 | 35 |
| 33 | Toyota C+POD | 30 | -69.7% | 33 | 48 | -76.0% | 33 | 34 |
| 34 | Honda S660 | 1 | -99.8% | 34 | 3 | -99.7% | 34 | 31 |
| 35 | Daihatsu Wake | 1 | -99.9% | 35 | 2 | -99.9% | 35 | 21 |
Source: JADA, JMVA, JAIA
