The Mercedes G-Class is the 2nd best-selling foreign model in Japan over Q3.
The Japanese new vehicle market stabilises in September at +0.3% too 438,733 sales. The year-to-date tally remains in frank negative meanwhile at -8.5% to 3,299,869 units. Local behemoth Toyota (-6.9%) underperforms but still manages a strong 28.9% share vs. 30.3% year-to-date. Honda (+25.5%) overtakes Suzuki (+5.2%) to 2nd place overall with 15.5% share while Nissan (+4.5%) passes a still battered Daihatsu (-17.4%) to #4. The next 12 carmakers are identical to August, with Hino (+30.4%) the best performer ahead of Isuzu (+19.4%), Subaru (+11.5%), Mercedes (+11.3%), Lexus (+4.4%) and Mitsubishi (+1.1%). In contrast Volkswagen (-61.3%). Mini (-20.6%) and Mitsubishi Fuso (-18.7%) all get hit hard. Further down, Porsche (+47.3%), Fiat (+31%), UD Trucks (+18.7%) and Volvo (+11.2%) stand out but all hold 0.3% share or less.
Over in the regular car ranking, the Toyota Yaris/Cross (-22.3%) is back in charge for the first time since last May and despite a hefty year-on-year loss. The Toyota Corolla/Cross (-1.1%) falls to #2 ahead of a resurgent Nissan Note (+5.7%). The Toyota Roomy (-2.1%) and Sienta (-13.6%) close out the Top 5 in lukewarm fashion. In contrast the Honda Freed (+53.2%), Toyota Raize (+54.3%) and Honda Fit (+42.9%) all lodge sensational gains. Below, notice the Toyota Crown (+116.9%), Mazda CX-30 (+267.3%), Mazda Roadster (+192.4%) and Toyota 86 (+129.6%).
Looking at kei cars, the Honda N-BOX (+20.6%) is by far the best-selling vehicle in the country overall with almost 25,000 sales for the month. The Suzuki Spacia (+35.3%) is also in excellent shape at #2, followed by two struggling models: the Daihatsu Tanto (-19.5%) and Suzuki Hustler (-10.9%). The Nissan Roox (+18%), Suzuki WagonR (+12.9%), Mitsubishi Delica Mini (+13.5%) and Nissan Dayz (+16.3%) also impress.
As for foreign models, over Q3 the Mini lineup (+3%) comfortably holds onto the lead but the surprise comes from the Mercedes G Class (+73.3%) soaring from #20 in Q2 to a record 2nd place now. The Mercedes GLC is knocked down to #3 above the BMQ3 (+96.3%) also shine whereas the VW Golf (-68.2%) sinks to #12.
Previous month: Japan August 2024: Honda (+13.1%), Subaru (+18.8%), Mitsubishi (+22.1%) defy negative market
One year ago: Japan September 2023: VW T-Roc up to #3 foreigner, market up 10.7%
Full September 2024 Top 49 All brands, Top 50 regular cars, Top 31 All kei cars and Q3 2024 Top 20 foreign models below.
Japan September 2024 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Sep-24 | % | /23 | Aug | 2024 | % | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Toyota | 126,627 | 28.9% | – 6.9% | 1 | 998,339 | 30.3% | – 17.4% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Honda | 67,985 | 15.5% | + 25.5% | 3 | 515,425 | 15.6% | + 21.5% | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Suzuki | 64,819 | 14.8% | + 5.2% | 2 | 548,121 | 16.6% | + 11.0% | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Nissan | 49,122 | 11.2% | + 4.5% | 5 | 370,340 | 11.2% | – 0.5% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Daihatsu | 46,063 | 10.5% | – 17.4% | 4 | 245,686 | 7.4% | – 44.4% | 5 | 3 |
| 6 | Mazda | 13,577 | 3.1% | + 12.5% | 6 | 103,645 | 3.1% | – 25.5% | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi | 11,817 | 2.7% | + 1.1% | 7 | 88,320 | 2.7% | + 15.6% | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Subaru | 10,793 | 2.5% | + 11.5% | 8 | 77,601 | 2.4% | + 4.0% | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Lexus | 8,535 | 1.9% | + 4.4% | 9 | 68,857 | 2.1% | – 8.9% | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Isuzu | 7,921 | 1.8% | + 19.4% | 10 | 49,718 | 1.5% | – 2.4% | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Mercedes | 5,637 | 1.3% | + 11.3% | 11 | 39,776 | 1.2% | + 5.7% | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Hino | 4,111 | 0.9% | + 30.4% | 12 | 31,582 | 1.0% | + 4.2% | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | BMW | 3,704 | 0.8% | – 3.6% | 13 | 25,137 | 0.8% | – 0.4% | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 2,893 | 0.7% | – 18.7% | 14 | 25,191 | 0.8% | – 8.5% | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | Audi | 2,196 | 0.5% | – 9.5% | 15 | 17,078 | 0.5% | – 5.5% | 16 | 16 |
| 16 | Mini | 1,872 | 0.4% | – 20.6% | 16 | 10,876 | 0.3% | – 17.1% | 17 | 17 |
| 17 | Volkswagen | 1,616 | 0.4% | – 61.3% | 17 | 17,410 | 0.5% | – 24.1% | 15 | 15 |
| 18 | Porsche | 1,426 | 0.3% | + 47.3% | 22 | 7,364 | 0.2% | + 17.8% | 19 | 23 |
| 19 | Volvo | 1,403 | 0.3% | + 11.2% | 19 | 9,791 | 0.3% | – 13.3% | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | UD Trucks | 1,119 | 0.3% | + 18.7% | 18 | 7,343 | 0.2% | – 4.7% | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Jeep | 1,053 | 0.2% | – 12.4% | 21 | 7,076 | 0.2% | – 21.8% | 21 | 19 |
| 22 | Land Rover | 773 | 0.2% | – 16.4% | 20 | 6,160 | 0.2% | – 7.2% | 22 | 21 |
| 23 | Fiat | 609 | 0.1% | + 31.0% | 25 | 3,507 | 0.1% | + 0.9% | 25 | 26 |
| 24 | Peugeot | 447 | 0.1% | – 44.6% | 23 | 3,904 | 0.1% | – 38.1% | 24 | 22 |
| 25 | Renault | 352 | 0.1% | – 55.8% | 26 | 3,919 | 0.1% | – 30.9% | 23 | 24 |
| 26 | BYD | 271 | 0.1% | + 43.4% | 24 | 1,862 | 0.1% | + 99.6% | 27 | 29 |
| 27 | Citroen | 248 | 0.1% | – 51.3% | 27 | 2,153 | 0.1% | – 48.1% | 26 | 25 |
| 28 | Abarth | 209 | 0.0% | + 69.9% | 28 | 1,450 | 0.0% | + 36.7% | 28 | 30 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 115 | 0.0% | – 12.9% | 29 | 1,077 | 0.0% | + 0.6% | 29 | 31 |
| 30 | Maserati | 115 | 0.0% | – 51.9% | 30 | 922 | 0.0% | – 20.4% | 30 | 27 |
| 31 | Alfa Romeo | 97 | 0.0% | – 40.9% | 31 | 769 | 0.0% | – 42.9% | 31 | 28 |
| 32 | Lamborghini | 93 | 0.0% | + 6.9% | 39 | 572 | 0.0% | + 34.3% | 32 | 36 |
| 33 | Chevrolet | 68 | 0.0% | – 24.4% | 42 | 462 | 0.0% | – 26.3% | 35 | 33 |
| 34 | Cadillac | 62 | 0.0% | + 40.9% | 44 | 340 | 0.0% | – 24.3% | 40 | 37 |
| 35 | Hyundai | 58 | 0.0% | + 61.1% | 32 | 492 | 0.0% | + 64.0% | 33 | 38 |
| 36 | Jaguar | 49 | 0.0% | – 21.0% | 35 | 470 | 0.0% | – 11.8% | 34 | 35 |
| 37 | Scania | 49 | 0.0% | – 2.0% | 34 | 347 | 0.0% | + 20.1% | 39 | 40 |
| 38 | Aston Martin | 45 | 0.0% | + 50.0% | 36 | 392 | 0.0% | + 21.4% | 37 | 39 |
| 39 | DS | 42 | 0.0% | – 44.7% | 38 | 364 | 0.0% | – 52.4% | 38 | 32 |
| 40 | Bentley | 38 | 0.0% | – 39.7% | 33 | 413 | 0.0% | – 12.3% | 36 | 34 |
| 41 | Lotus | 35 | 0.0% | – 30.0% | 37 | 237 | 0.0% | + 119.4% | 43 | 45 |
| 42 | Alpina | 33 | 0.0% | + 50.0% | 41 | 300 | 0.0% | + 37.0% | 41 | 41 |
| 43 | Rolls-Royce | 29 | 0.0% | + 123.1% | 40 | 274 | 0.0% | + 71.3% | 42 | 43 |
| 44 | McLaren | 28 | 0.0% | + 154.5% | 43 | 196 | 0.0% | + 55.6% | 44 | 46 |
| 45 | Ford | 17 | 0.0% | – 46.9% | 45 | 155 | 0.0% | – 36.5% | 45 | 42 |
| 46 | Dodge | 5 | 0.0% | – 78.3% | 46 | 90 | 0.0% | – 49.2% | 46 | 44 |
| 47 | GMC | 4 | 0.0% | + 400.0% | 47 | 18 | 0.0% | – 10.0% | 47 | 47 |
| 48 | Morgan | 3 | 0.0% | n/a | 48 | 14 | 0.0% | – 26.3% | 48 | 48 |
| 49 | Bugatti | 1 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 1 | 0.0% | + 0.0% | 56 | 57 |
| – | Others | 549 | 0.1% | – 12.3% | – | 4,270 | 0.1% | + 4.3% | – | – |
Japan September 2024 – regular models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-24 | /23 | Aug | 2024 | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Toyota Yaris/Cross | 13,047 | – 22.3% | 3 | 115,280 | – 21.7% | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Toyota Corolla/Cross | 12,822 | – 1.1% | 1 | 123,186 | + 4.1% | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Nissan Note | 10,831 | + 5.7% | 6 | 79,582 | – 4.0% | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Toyota Roomy | 10,495 | – 2.1% | 4 | 47,812 | – 31.4% | 14 | 5 |
| 5 | Toyota Sienta | 10,033 | – 13.6% | 2 | 86,150 | – 14.8% | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Honda Freed | 8,943 | + 53.2% | 5 | 62,804 | + 4.7% | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | Toyota Raize | 8,680 | + 54.3% | 10 | 31,106 | – 35.2% | 21 | 13 |
| 8 | Nissan Serena | 8,270 | – 0.8% | 7 | 62,149 | + 9.7% | 6 | 11 |
| 9 | Toyota Prius | 7,771 | – 17.9% | 8 | 57,516 | – 23.1% | 8 | 6 |
| 10 | Honda Fit | 6,677 | + 42.9% | 16 | 49,635 | + 13.4% | 13 | 15 |
| 11 | Toyota Voxy | 6,657 | – 13.2% | 13 | 53,072 | – 25.8% | 10 | 8 |
| 12 | Toyota Noah | 6,401 | – 25.4% | 15 | 52,940 | – 30.3% | 11 | 7 |
| 13 | Toyota Aqua | 5,984 | – 0.4% | 12 | 45,145 | – 29.0% | 17 | 9 |
| 14 | Toyota Crown | 5,897 | + 116.9% | 17 | 46,865 | + 49.0% | 15 | 20 |
| 15 | Honda Vezel | 5,833 | + 6.3% | 18 | 60,084 | + 67.9% | 7 | 14 |
| 16 | Toyota Land Cruiser W | 5,779 | + 28.5% | 11 | 35,045 | – 22.8% | 19 | 16 |
| 17 | Toyota Harrier | 5,354 | + 2.2% | 14 | 51,570 | – 12.8% | 12 | 12 |
| 18 | Toyota Alphard | 4,908 | – 15.1% | 9 | 56,336 | + 47.1% | 9 | 17 |
| 19 | Suzuki Solio | 4,590 | + 9.2% | 19 | 41,617 | + 10.6% | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | Honda StepWGN | 3,626 | – 32.5% | 21 | 45,736 | + 54.5% | 16 | 19 |
| 21 | Honda WR-V | 3,545 | new | 23 | 20,082 | new | 27 | – |
| 22 | Toyota RAV4 | 3,471 | + 39.7% | 22 | 25,923 | – 25.1% | 23 | 21 |
| 23 | Honda ZR-V | 3,381 | + 39.9% | 20 | 34,655 | + 238.3% | 20 | n/a |
| 24 | Subaru Impreza | 3,269 | – 8.2% | 27 | 23,393 | + 9.6% | 26 | 22 |
| 25 | Suzuki Swift | 2,961 | + 31.0% | 26 | 26,389 | + 28.9% | 22 | 25 |
| 26 | Nissan X-Trail | 2,760 | + 44.9% | 28 | 25,852 | + 25.7% | 24 | 24 |
| 27 | Subaru Forester | 2,606 | + 23.2% | 25 | 16,318 | – 2.4% | 31 | 30 |
| 28 | Mazda2 | 2,360 | + 52.3% | 29 | 16,019 | – 0.7% | 32 | 31 |
| 29 | Mazda CX-5 | 2,260 | + 51.7% | 30 | 14,543 | – 24.5% | 33 | 28 |
| 30 | Toyota Vellfire | 2,214 | – 8.9% | 24 | 24,928 | #VALUE! | 25 | n/a |
| 31 | Lexus NX350H | 2,171 | – 8.8% | 33 | 12,122 | – 48.9% | 35 | 23 |
| 32 | Suzuki Jimny Wagon | 2,144 | – 7.7% | 32 | 19,373 | – 3.7% | 28 | 26 |
| 33 | Subaru Levorg | 2,117 | + 84.9% | 35 | 19,141 | + 79.7% | 29 | 36 |
| 34 | Mitsubishi Delica D5 | 2,097 | + 17.0% | 34 | 14,182 | + 3.9% | 34 | 33 |
| 35 | Honda Civic | 2,047 | + 20.5% | 41 | 11,986 | + 20.3% | 36 | 41 |
| 36 | Lexus LBX | 1,958 | new | 31 | 16,560 | new | 30 | n/a |
| 37 | Daihatsu Rocky | 1,731 | + 5.7% | 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 37 |
| 38 | Mazda CX-30 | 1,473 | + 267.3% | 36 | 10,656 | – 20.0% | 38 | 32 |
| 39 | Nissan Kicks | 1,341 | – 24.4% | 42 | 11,762 | + 5.1% | 37 | 35 |
| 40 | Daihatsu Thor | 1,176 | + 4.4% | 43 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 43 |
| 41 | Honda Odyssey | 1,041 | n/a | 39 | 9,567 | + 635.4% | 39 | n/a |
| 42 | Suzuki Xbee | 1,026 | – 24.6% | 40 | 9,454 | – 4.2% | 40 | 40 |
| 43 | Mazda CX-80 | 1,021 | new | n/a | n/a | new | n/a | – |
| 44 | Mazda MX-5 (Roadster) | 994 | + 192.4% | 37 | 8,143 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 45 | Toyota 86 | 932 | + 129.6% | 44 | 6,886 | – 15.3% | n/a | 46 |
| 46 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 785 | + 2.9% | 46 | 5,726 | – 15.8% | n/a | 50 |
| 47 | Toyota JPN Taxi | 698 | + 44.5% | 47 | 5,001 | + 188.1% | n/a | n/a |
| 48 | Mazda3 | 647 | – 33.2% | n/a | 7,536 | – 32.9% | n/a | 38 |
| 49 | Lexus LM500H | 632 | new | 48 | n/a | new | n/a | n/a |
| 50 | Lexus RX500H | 598 | – 7.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 47 |
Japan September 2024 – kei cars:
| Pos | Model | Sep-24 | /23 | Aug | 2024 | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Honda N-BOX | 24,953 | + 20.6% | 1 | 156,574 | – 6.6% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Suzuki Spacia | 15,823 | + 35.3% | 2 | 124,430 | + 37.7% | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Daihatsu Tanto | 11,699 | – 19.5% | 3 | 61,971 | – 46.5% | 5 | 2 |
| 4 | Suzuki Hustler | 8,033 | – 10.9% | 4 | 70,889 | + 20.9% | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Nissan Roox | 7,444 | + 18.0% | 6 | 55,269 | + 4.5% | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Suzuki WagonR | 7,192 | + 12.9% | 5 | 62,301 | + 11.2% | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Daihatsu Taft | 5,997 | – 7.0% | 9 | 23,835 | – 41.8% | 13 | 10 |
| 8 | Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK | 5,992 | + 13.5% | 10 | 46,214 | + 74.3% | 8 | 11 |
| 9 | Suzuki Alto | 5,985 | – 5.1% | 7 | 53,020 | – 0.6% | 7 | 8 |
| 10 | Nissan Dayz | 5,173 | + 16.3% | 11 | 40,182 | + 31.1% | 9 | 13 |
| 11 | Daihatsu Mira | 4,952 | – 13.7% | 12 | 30,248 | – 35.2% | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Daihatsu Move | 3,845 | – 54.3% | 8 | 22,439 | – 73.4% | 14 | 4 |
| 13 | Suzuki Jimny | 3,775 | + 7.4% | 13 | 30,778 | + 2.9% | 10 | 12 |
| 14 | Honda N-WGN | 3,076 | – 16.7% | 14 | 25,602 | – 9.5% | 12 | 14 |
| 15 | Nissan Sakura | 2,485 | – 34.6% | 16 | 18,266 | – 37.0% | 15 | 15 |
| 16 | Suzuki Every Wagon | 1,704 | + 19.1% | 15 | 14,152 | + 1.2% | 16 | 17 |
| 17 | Honda N-ONE | 1,654 | – 16.3% | 17 | 13,626 | – 7.6% | 17 | 16 |
| 18 | Mazda Flair Wagon | 1,548 | + 29.4% | 18 | 11,898 | + 27.4% | 18 | 18 |
| 19 | Toyota Pixis | 771 | – 6.9% | 19 | 4,604 | – 44.9% | 21 | 19 |
| 20 | Nissan NV100 Clipper Rio | 731 | + 42.2% | 21 | 4,659 | + 11.8% | 20 | 23 |
| 21 | Mazda Flair Crossover | 677 | + 16.5% | 20 | 5,448 | + 14.9% | 19 | 22 |
| 22 | Subaru Chiffon | 458 | – 13.1% | 23 | 2,385 | – 29.9% | 24 | 25 |
| 23 | Daihatsu Copen | 424 | + 9.6% | 22 | 1,864 | – 49.8% | 26 | 26 |
| 24 | Mazda Carol | 343 | – 19.5% | 24 | 3,069 | – 19.8% | 22 | 24 |
| 25 | Mazda Flair | 342 | – 23.7% | 26 | 2,642 | – 19.9% | 23 | 27 |
| 26 | Mitsubishi eK Cross EV | 225 | – 40.0% | 27 | 1,880 | – 69.3% | 25 | 21 |
| 27 | Subaru Pleo | 221 | – 11.6% | 25 | 1,502 | – 11.4% | 27 | 28 |
| 28 | Toyota Copen GR Sport | 147 | – 2.0% | 28 | 642 | – 46.9% | 29 | 30 |
| 29 | Mazda Scrum Wagon | 91 | – 15.7% | 29 | 896 | – 4.8% | 28 | 31 |
| 30 | Mitsubishi Town Box | 43 | – 18.9% | 30 | 371 | – 7.5% | 30 | 32 |
| 31 | Toyota C+POD | 8 | – 65.2% | 31 | 217 | + 0.0% | 31 | 33 |
Japan Q3 2024 – foreign models:
| Pos | Model | Q3 2024 | /23 | Q2 | 2024 | /23 | Pos | FY23 |
| 1 | Mini | 4,355 | + 3.0% | 1 | 10,876 | – 17.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Mercedes G-Class | 2,287 | + 73.3% | 20 | 4,291 | + 6.7% | 8 | 11 |
| 3 | Mercedes GLC | 1,885 | n/a | 2 | 5,437 | #VALUE! | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | BMW X1 | 1,641 | + 39.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 15 |
| 5 | BMW 3 Series | 1,597 | + 5.4% | 4 | 4,487 | – 1.4% | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Mercedes GLB | 1,516 | + 14.6% | 5 | 4,854 | + 21.9% | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Audi Q3 | 1,478 | + 96.3% | 6 | 4,364 | + 59.2% | 7 | 19 |
| 8 | Mercedes C-Class | 1,416 | – 32.3% | 7 | 4,536 | – 38.9% | 5 | 3 |
| 9 | Mercedes E-Class | 1,342 | n/a | 8 | 3,851 | #VALUE! | 10 | n/a |
| 10 | Volvo S/V/XC60 | 1,261 | – 6.9% | 10 | 3,860 | – 20.4% | 9 | 7 |
| 11 | Volvo XC40 | 1,063 | – 23.5% | 17 | 2,957 | – 36.3% | n/a | 10 |
| 12 | VW Golf | 1,058 | – 68.2% | 3 | 5,708 | – 20.6% | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Mercedes GLA | 1,004 | – 17.6% | 13 | 3,078 | + 2.1% | 12 | 17 |
| 14 | VW T-Roc | 963 | – 62.4% | 9 | 3,590 | – 29.9% | 11 | 4 |
| 15 | Porsche 911 | 815 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 16 | Land Rover Defender 110 | 785 | – 32.3% | n/a | 2,718 | – 9.5% | n/a | 18 |
| 17 | BMW X2 | 780 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 18 | Audi A4 | 737 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 19 | Fiat 500 | 725 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 20 | Audi Q5 | 725 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Sources: JADA, JMVA, JAIA