VW T-Roc
New vehicle sales in Japan soar 10.7% year-on-year in September to 437,493 units, meaning the year-to-date volume is now up 15.6% to 3,607,486. Toyota (+18%) once again beats the market but at 31.1% share it remains below its YTD volume of 33.5%. Suzuki (+5.6%) follows at 14.1% share ahead of Daihatsu (+6.8%) at 12.7%, Honda (+11.7%) at 12.4% and Nissan (+10.6%) at 10.7%. In fact the Top 7 brands are unchanged on last month and YTD, with Mazda (-23.7%) and Mitsubishi (+21.6%) in tow. Below, Lexus (+85.9%), Isuzu (+21.9%) and Mitsubishi Fuso (+55%) impress while among foreigners Audi (+20.3%), Jeep (+35.8%), Porsche (+31.2%), Land Rover (+64.3%) and Citroen (+50.6%) impress.
In the regular car ranking, the Toyota Yaris/Cross (+5.1%) and Corolla/Cross (+43.4%) top the charts again while the Toyota Sienta (+49.1%) and Roomy (+57.8%) follow in excellent shape. The Nissan Note (+4.9%) is back up 3 spots on August to #5, distancing the Toyota Prius (+214.4%) and Noah (+10.5%). The Nissan Serena (+42.4%) also shines in the remainder of the Top 10 but the Toyota Voxy (-6.9%) and Aqua (-10.8%) fall. Below, the Toyota Vellfire (+1036%), Crown (+118.2%), Harrier (+102.9%) and Honda StepWGN (+92.4%) stand out.
First foreigner Top 20 finish for the VW ID.4
Looking at kei cars, the Honda N-BOX (+6.6%) easily remains on top and is also by far the best-selling vehicle in the country. The Daihatsu Tanto (+47.1%), Suzuki Spacia (+35.7%) and Suzuki Hustler (+34.2%) all post fantastic scores while the Daihatsu Move (+11.5%) ensure the Top 5 in unchanged on August. The Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK (+118.5%) and Nissan Dayz (+39.2%) also shine.
The Mini Lineup (-10.3%) remains the best-selling foreign ‘model’, distancing the VW Golf (+48.7%) rallying back. The VW T-Roc (+121.1%) shoots up 9 spots on Q2 to #3 while the Mercedes C-Class (-28.1%) continues to decline. The VW T-Cross (-3.3%) is up 12 ranks on Q2 to #5 but drops year-on-year. The BMW 3 Series (+66.7%), Audi A3 (+65.3%) and Volvo XC40 (+29.6%) all post fantastic gains as do the Mercedes G Class (+35.8%) and BMW X1 (+50.2%). The VW ID.4 (#16) and Audi Q4 (#19) break into the Top 20 for the first time.
Previous month: Japan August 2023: Toyota places 7 models in Top 7 regular car ranking
One year ago: Japan September 2022: First market lift in 15 months at +24.1%
Full September 2023 Top 50 All brands, Top 50 regular cars, Top 35 All kei cars and Q3 2023 Top 20 imports below.
Japan September 2023 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Sep-23 | % | /22 | Aug | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Toyota | 136,041 | 31.1% | 18.0% | 1 | 1,208,341 | 33.5% | 29.4% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Suzuki | 61,644 | 14.1% | 5.6% | 2 | 493,936 | 13.7% | 12.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Daihatsu | 55,772 | 12.7% | 6.8% | 3 | 441,603 | 12.2% | 8.5% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Honda | 54,163 | 12.4% | 11.7% | 4 | 424,387 | 11.8% | -0.7% | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nissan | 46,996 | 10.7% | 10.6% | 5 | 372,130 | 10.3% | 7.8% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Mazda | 12,071 | 2.8% | -23.7% | 6 | 139,161 | 3.9% | 14.1% | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi | 11,684 | 2.7% | 21.6% | 7 | 76,417 | 2.1% | 8.4% | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Subaru | 9,682 | 2.2% | -4.1% | 9 | 74,650 | 2.1% | 0.0% | 9 | 7 |
| 9 | Lexus | 8,178 | 1.9% | 85.9% | 8 | 75,559 | 2.1% | 132.2% | 8 | 12 |
| 10 | Isuzu | 6,636 | 1.5% | 21.9% | 10 | 50,948 | 1.4% | 64.2% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Mercedes | 5,064 | 1.2% | -5.7% | 12 | 37,623 | 1.0% | 3.7% | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Volkswagen | 4,178 | 1.0% | 9.0% | 14 | 22,951 | 0.6% | -1.5% | 15 | 13 |
| 13 | BMW | 3,844 | 0.9% | 9.3% | 15 | 25,248 | 0.7% | 14.6% | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 3,560 | 0.8% | 55.0% | 13 | 27,530 | 0.8% | 41.9% | 13 | 15 |
| 15 | Hino | 3,153 | 0.7% | -11.4% | 11 | 30,302 | 0.8% | -13.4% | 12 | 11 |
| 16 | Audi | 2,426 | 0.6% | 20.3% | 16 | 18,081 | 0.5% | 19.4% | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Mini | 2,358 | 0.5% | 9.7% | 21 | 13,114 | 0.4% | -6.7% | 17 | 17 |
| 18 | Volvo | 1,262 | 0.3% | -29.5% | 17 | 11,298 | 0.3% | -6.6% | 18 | 18 |
| 19 | Jeep | 1,202 | 0.3% | 35.8% | 19 | 9,043 | 0.3% | 17.6% | 19 | 19 |
| 20 | Porsche | 968 | 0.2% | 31.2% | 23 | 6,251 | 0.2% | 13.3% | 23 | 23 |
| 21 | UD Trucks | 943 | 0.2% | -7.4% | 18 | 7,708 | 0.2% | 13.0% | 20 | 20 |
| 22 | Land Rover | 925 | 0.2% | 64.3% | 20 | 6,641 | 0.2% | 93.4% | 21 | 26 |
| 23 | Peugeot | 807 | 0.2% | 7.0% | 22 | 6,304 | 0.2% | 3.4% | 22 | 22 |
| 24 | Renault | 797 | 0.2% | -25.0% | 24 | 5,670 | 0.2% | -15.1% | 24 | 21 |
| 25 | Citroen | 509 | 0.1% | 50.6% | 26 | 4,148 | 0.1% | 19.9% | 25 | 25 |
| 26 | Fiat | 465 | 0.1% | -26.8% | 25 | 3,477 | 0.1% | -24.5% | 26 | 24 |
| 27 | Maserati | 239 | 0.1% | 66.0% | 27 | 1,159 | 0.0% | 27.5% | 28 | 30 |
| 28 | BYD | 189 | 0.0% | 1475.0% | 31 | 933 | 0.0% | 5083.3% | 31 | 48 |
| 29 | Alfa Romeo | 164 | 0.0% | -14.1% | 28 | 1,347 | 0.0% | 7.5% | 27 | 28 |
| 30 | Ferrari | 132 | 0.0% | -5.7% | 29 | 1,071 | 0.0% | -8.3% | 29 | 29 |
| 31 | Abarth | 123 | 0.0% | -50.4% | 30 | 1,061 | 0.0% | -49.6% | 30 | 27 |
| 32 | Chevrolet | 90 | 0.0% | -7.2% | 32 | 627 | 0.0% | 12.2% | 33 | 34 |
| 33 | Lamborghini | 87 | 0.0% | 45.0% | 38 | 426 | 0.0% | -11.4% | 37 | 36 |
| 34 | DS | 76 | 0.0% | 40.7% | 34 | 765 | 0.0% | 50.0% | 32 | 33 |
| 35 | Bentley | 63 | 0.0% | 18.9% | 33 | 471 | 0.0% | 2.6% | 35 | 35 |
| 36 | Jaguar | 62 | 0.0% | -40.4% | 36 | 533 | 0.0% | -28.0% | 34 | 31 |
| 37 | Scania | 50 | 0.0% | 78.6% | 39 | 289 | 0.0% | 18.9% | 40 | 41 |
| 38 | Lotus | 50 | 0.0% | 1566.7% | 37 | 108 | 0.0% | -36.1% | 46 | 44 |
| 39 | Cadillac | 44 | 0.0% | -62.4% | 35 | 449 | 0.0% | -32.5% | 36 | 32 |
| 40 | Hyundai | 36 | 0.0% | -75.5% | 43 | 300 | 0.0% | -19.1% | 39 | 37 |
| 41 | Ford | 32 | 0.0% | -5.9% | 40 | 244 | 0.0% | -28.4% | 41 | 39 |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 30 | 0.0% | 275.0% | 42 | 323 | 0.0% | 24.2% | 38 | 40 |
| 43 | Dodge | 23 | 0.0% | -36.1% | 45 | 177 | 0.0% | -51.8% | 43 | 38 |
| 44 | Alpina | 22 | 0.0% | -54.2% | 41 | 219 | 0.0% | -11.0% | 42 | 42 |
| 45 | Rolls-Royce | 13 | 0.0% | -38.1% | 44 | 160 | 0.0% | -19.6% | 44 | 43 |
| 46 | McLaren | 11 | 0.0% | -35.3% | 46 | 126 | 0.0% | 16.7% | 45 | 45 |
| 47 | Pontiac | 2 | 0.0% | 100.0% | 48 | 14 | 0.0% | -6.7% | 49 | 52 |
| 48 | MG | 1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | – | 7 | 0.0% | -22.2% | 51 | 53 |
| 49 | GMC | 0 | 0.0% | -100.0% | 47 | 19 | 0.0% | -48.6% | 47 | 46 |
| 50 | Morgan | 0 | 0.0% | -100.0% | – | 19 | 0.0% | 5.6% | 48 | 49 |
| – | Others | 626 | 0.1% | -28.8% | – | 4,095 | 0.1% | 11.4% | – | – |
Japan September 2023 – regular car models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-23 | /22 | Aug | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Toyota Yaris/Cross | 16,790 | 5.1% | 1 | 147,297 | 28.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Toyota Corolla/Cross | 12,962 | 43.4% | 2 | 118,329 | 29.5% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Toyota Sienta | 11,611 | 49.1% | 3 | 101,080 | 227.3% | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Toyota Roomy | 10,716 | 57.8% | 4 | 69,667 | -11.3% | 8 | 4 |
| 5 | Nissan Note | 10,251 | 4.9% | 8 | 82,895 | 13.3% | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | Toyota Prius | 9,468 | 214.4% | 5 | 74,761 | 230.6% | 6 | 20 |
| 7 | Toyota Noah | 8,584 | 10.5% | 6 | 75,948 | 134.3% | 5 | 11 |
| 8 | Nissan Serena | 8,336 | 42.4% | 9 | 56,652 | 43.3% | 12 | 12 |
| 9 | Toyota Voxy | 7,670 | -6.9% | 7 | 71,542 | 138.4% | 7 | 13 |
| 10 | Toyota Aqua | 6,008 | -10.8% | 13 | 63,604 | 45.3% | 9 | 7 |
| 11 | Honda Freed | 5,839 | -24.8% | 12 | 59,985 | 10.1% | 10 | 6 |
| 12 | Toyota Alphard | 5,781 | -4.8% | 11 | 38,302 | -4.3% | 16 | 10 |
| 13 | Toyota Raize | 5,625 | -36.3% | 10 | 48,006 | -16.1% | 13 | 5 |
| 14 | Honda Vezel | 5,489 | 38.4% | 18 | 35,778 | 12.3% | 18 | 14 |
| 15 | Honda StepWGN | 5,372 | 92.4% | 17 | 29,605 | 30.2% | 21 | 16 |
| 16 | Toyota Harrier | 5,240 | 102.9% | 15 | 59,148 | 117.4% | 11 | 18 |
| 17 | Honda Fit | 4,673 | 16.8% | 16 | 43,778 | 6.2% | 15 | 9 |
| 18 | Toyota Land Cruiser W | 4,498 | 7.6% | 14 | 45,370 | 96.8% | 14 | 17 |
| 19 | Suzuki Solio | 4,202 | -9.8% | 19 | 37,634 | 54.1% | 17 | 15 |
| 20 | Subaru Impreza | 3,562 | 67.1% | 25 | 21,342 | 50.5% | 24 | 26 |
| 21 | Toyota Crown | 2,719 | 118.2% | 22 | 31,449 | 264.8% | 20 | 31 |
| 22 | Toyota RAV4 | 2,484 | -33.0% | 20 | 34,619 | 71.5% | 19 | 22 |
| 23 | Toyota Passo | 2,459 | 18.9% | 21 | 24,852 | 6.7% | 22 | 19 |
| 24 | Toyota Vellfire | 2,431 | 1036.0% | 28 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 25 | Honda ZR-V | 2,416 | new | 30 | n/a | new | n/a | – |
| 26 | Lexus NX350H | 2,380 | 207.1% | 24 | 23,731 | 480.2% | 23 | n/a |
| 27 | Suzuki Jimny Wagon | 2,322 | 43.5% | 27 | 20,124 | 92.0% | 28 | 30 |
| 28 | Suzuki Swift | 2,260 | -4.4% | 26 | 20,475 | 18.0% | 27 | 23 |
| 29 | Subaru Forester | 2,115 | 21.8% | 29 | 16,720 | -0.1% | 30 | 24 |
| 30 | Nissan X-Trail | 1,905 | -43.9% | 31 | 20,571 | 112.9% | 26 | 29 |
| 31 | Mitsubishi Delica D5 | 1,793 | 28.1% | 36 | 13,644 | 25.7% | 32 | 33 |
| 32 | Nissan Kicks | 1,773 | 42.0% | 37 | 11,186 | -20.9% | 37 | 28 |
| 33 | Honda Civic | 1,699 | 98.9% | 42 | 9,967 | 75.2% | 40 | 47 |
| 34 | Daihatsu Rocky | 1,637 | -17.5% | 49 | 12,479 | -14.8% | 34 | 27 |
| 35 | Mazda2 | 1,550 | -34.2% | 32 | 16,128 | -3.6% | 31 | 25 |
| 36 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 1,517 | -35.9% | 41 | 10,064 | -21.6% | 39 | 32 |
| 37 | Mazda CX-5 | 1,490 | -67.9% | 23 | 19,266 | -5.4% | 29 | 21 |
| 38 | Suzuki Xbee | 1,361 | 5.2% | 39 | 9,873 | 25.9% | 41 | 41 |
| 39 | Mazda CX-8 | 1,323 | -4.3% | 35 | 12,424 | 35.7% | 35 | 39 |
| 40 | Subaru Levorg | 1,145 | -49.8% | 44 | 10,652 | 25.0% | 38 | 35 |
| 41 | Daihatsu Thor | 1,126 | 52.0% | 45 | 8,041 | 8.1% | 45 | 43 |
| 42 | Mazda3 | 968 | 38.3% | 40 | 11,235 | 12.7% | 36 | 36 |
| 43 | Mazda CX-60 | 940 | 15.6% | 34 | 21,329 | 4049.6% | 25 | n/a |
| 44 | Toyota Hiace W | 936 | 16.9% | 43 | 8,333 | 40.4% | 43 | 46 |
| 45 | Mazda CX-3 | 869 | 21.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 48 |
| 46 | Toyota Camry | 839 | 14.0% | 48 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 47 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 763 | 2.8% | 50 | 6,800 | 15.0% | 50 | 50 |
| 48 | Lexus UX250H | 738 | 42.2% | 38 | 8,875 | n/a | 42 | n/a |
| 49 | Nissan Ariya | 671 | 680.2% | n/a | 6,977 | 261.9% | 49 | n/a |
| 50 | Nissan Leaf | 656 | -44.3% | n/a | 7,261 | -19.6% | 47 | 40 |
Japan September 2023 – kei cars:
| Pos | Model | Sep-23 | /22 | Aug | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Honda N-BOX | 20,686 | 6.6% | 1 | 167,665 | 10.6% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Daihatsu Tanto | 14,527 | 47.1% | 2 | 115,817 | 76.4% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Suzuki Spacia | 11,693 | 35.7% | 3 | 90,340 | 26.3% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Suzuki Hustler | 9,011 | 34.2% | 4 | 58,625 | 14.6% | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | Daihatsu Move | 8,415 | 11.5% | 5 | 84,389 | 29.2% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Daihatsu Taft | 6,445 | 21.1% | 9 | 40,952 | -5.7% | 10 | 10 |
| 7 | Suzuki WagonR | 6,369 | -18.6% | 6 | 56,033 | -6.3% | 6 | 5 |
| 8 | Nissan Roox | 6,308 | 1.6% | 8 | 52,871 | -3.3% | 8 | 6 |
| 9 | Suzuki Alto | 6,304 | -4.5% | 7 | 53,320 | 6.0% | 7 | 8 |
| 10 | Daihatsu Mira | 5,735 | -12.8% | 10 | 46,708 | -1.4% | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK | 5,280 | 118.5% | 11 | 26,519 | 25.5% | 15 | 14 |
| 12 | Nissan Dayz | 4,448 | 39.2% | 12 | 30,652 | -16.7% | 11 | 11 |
| 13 | Nissan Sakura | 3,801 | -10.5% | 14 | 28,983 | 123.9% | 13 | 15 |
| 14 | Honda N-WGN | 3,692 | 6.5% | 15 | 28,305 | -11.9% | 14 | 12 |
| 15 | Suzuki Jimny | 3,515 | -11.6% | 13 | 29,910 | -8.0% | 12 | 13 |
| 16 | Honda N-ONE | 1,977 | 26.1% | 16 | 14,754 | -0.6% | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Suzuki Every Wagon | 1,431 | -11.6% | 17 | 13,981 | 26.1% | 17 | 18 |
| 18 | Mazda Flair Wagon | 1,196 | 37.0% | 18 | 9,341 | 36.6% | 18 | 20 |
| 19 | Toyota Pixis | 828 | -7.3% | 19 | 8,355 | -40.7% | 19 | 17 |
| 20 | Mazda Flair Crossover | 581 | 20.3% | 20 | 4,742 | 16.4% | 22 | 22 |
| 21 | Subaru Chiffon | 527 | 1.0% | 22 | 3,403 | 7.5% | 26 | 25 |
| 22 | Nissan NV100 Clipper Rio | 514 | 39.7% | 21 | 4,166 | 34.1% | 23 | 24 |
| 23 | Mazda Flair | 448 | 34.5% | 23 | 3,300 | 11.3% | 27 | 27 |
| 24 | Mazda Carol | 426 | 69.7% | 24 | 3,825 | 63.5% | 24 | 29 |
| 25 | Daihatsu Copen | 387 | -15.1% | 25 | 3,712 | 8.8% | 25 | 23 |
| 26 | Mitsubishi eK Cross EV | 375 | -64.6% | 26 | 6,116 | 132.3% | 21 | 26 |
| 27 | Subaru Pleo | 250 | -38.9% | 27 | 1,696 | -28.2% | 28 | 30 |
| 28 | Toyota Copen GR Sport | 150 | -2.6% | 28 | 1,209 | -20.2% | 30 | 32 |
| 29 | Mazda Scrum Wagon | 108 | -20.6% | 30 | 941 | -2.4% | 31 | 33 |
| 30 | Daihatsu Cast | 53 | -96.4% | 29 | 8,131 | -28.6% | 20 | 19 |
| 31 | Mitsubishi Town Box | 53 | 12.8% | 31 | 401 | 0.8% | 32 | 35 |
| 32 | Toyota C+POD | 23 | -78.5% | 33 | 217 | -79.6% | 33 | 34 |
| 33 | Subaru Stella | 19 | -95.6% | 32 | 1,694 | -35.9% | 29 | 28 |
| 34 | Honda S660 | 0 | -100.0% | – | 4 | -99.8% | 34 | 31 |
| 35 | Daihatsu Wake | 0 | -100.0% | – | 3 | -100.0% | 35 | 21 |
Japan Q3 2023 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Q3 2023 | /22 | Q2 | 2023 | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Mini | 4,230 | -10.3% | 1 | 13,114 | -6.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | VW Golf | 3,324 | 48.7% | 2 | 7,190 | 9.6% | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | VW T-Roc | 2,563 | 121.1% | 12 | 5,124 | 30.1% | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Mercedes C-Class | 2,093 | -28.1% | 3 | 7,429 | -30.9% | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | VW T-Cross | 1,927 | -3.3% | 17 | 4,795 | -5.7% | 6 | 5 |
| 6 | BMW 3 Series | 1,515 | 66.7% | 9 | 4,553 | 32.5% | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | Volvo XC40 | 1,389 | 29.6% | 7 | 4,640 | 3.8% | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Audi A3 | 1,357 | 65.3% | 4 | 4,380 | 53.6% | 9 | 16 |
| 9 | Volvo S/V/XC60 | 1,355 | -30.9% | 6 | 4,848 | -12.7% | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | Mercedes GLB | 1,323 | -10.3% | 10 | 3,983 | n/a | 11 | 11 |
| 11 | Mercedes G-Class | 1,320 | 35.8% | 5 | 4,021 | 18.3% | 10 | 10 |
| 12 | Mercedes GLA | 1,218 | n/a | 15 | 3,015 | n/a | 13 | n/a |
| 13 | BMW 2 Series | 1,216 | -4.5% | 8 | 3,674 | 27.5% | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | BMW X1 | 1,176 | 50.2% | 14 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 15 | Land Rover Defender 110 | 1,159 | n/a | 20 | 3,003 | n/a | 14 | n/a |
| 16 | VW ID.4 | 952 | new | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | n/a |
| 17 | VW Polo | 945 | -47.2% | 18 | 2,850 | -34.9% | 15 | 6 |
| 18 | BMW X3 | 853 | -13.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 19 | Audi Q4 | 808 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 20 | Mercedes A-Class | 801 | n/a | 16 | 2,715 | n/a | 16 | 19 |
Sources: JADA, JMVA, JAIA
