Japan June 2016: Nissan, Mazda & Mitsubishi pull market down

Halted sales of Nissan Dayz and Mitsubishi eK have handicapped the Japanese market in June.

* See the Top 55 All-brands, Top 30 cars, Top 30 kei and Top 20 foreigners by clicking on the title *

This update was created in collaboration with Stephen Bloom.

Japan’s automotive market continues to struggle in the wake of Mitsubishi’s fuel economy testing scandal and the subsequent halt in production of key kei car models.  Monthly sales are down 5% from last year to 420.907 registrations in June. Regular cars are up 3% to 404.813 with imports up 7% to 31.024, but again the kei segment holds up the overall totals: kei sales are down a substantial 18% to 133.137 units, bringing down the bottom lines of Nissan (-27%) and Mitsubishi (-52%). Mazda is also down (-36%) while Subaru (+14%), Isuzu (+12%), Hino (+10%) and Lexus (+10%) both post double-digit increases and market leader Toyota gains significant share thanks to deliveries up 8% to 32.9% of the market vs. 29.7% so far this year.

Jeep sales in Japan are up 39% in June thanks to the Renegade.

Thanks to stable sales, Mercedes remains the most popular foreign manufacturer in Japan at #9 overall with 6.370 while BMW (+9%) overtakes Volkswagen (-6%) to take the #2 spots, #11 overall. Audi (+8%), Mini (+9%) and Jeep (+39%) are the only other foreigners in the Top 20. Smart (+1825%), Jaguar (+187%) Rolls-Royce (+180%) take off but Cadillac (-36%), Chevrolet (-37%), Ford (-48%) and Chrysler (-71%) all implode. It’s not a good time being an American marque in Japan…

The Toyota Passo is up 104% year-on-year thanks to the new model. 

The new Toyota Prius remains the best-selling car in Japan with sales up 164% over last year thanks to the new model, soaring to 28.785 registrations. The next five models remain unchanged on last month including the new Sienta (+735%) and Passo (+104%) up by triple digits like the Prius over their previous generations. The Toyota Estima re-enters this month at #30 thanks to a third facelift for this venerable model that debuted a decade ago.

The Honda N-BOX is the best-selling kei car in Japan in June. 

Mitsubishi was just recently allowed to resume production of its eK and Nissan Dayz models which return to dealerships with a 6% reduction in fuel economy ratings. It will be interesting to see how sales will rebound in the second half of the year, but for now registrations in June remain halted. The Honda N-BOX keeps the top spot with 15.622 units and widens the gap with the Daihatsu Tanto, staying at #2 with 12.340 units. The Honda N-WGN is up 11% and jumps 3 spots to #3 this month.

The Mini is the best-selling foreign model in Japan over Q2 2016.

Over on the foreign model chart, Mini is up 19% to 5.800 units over the second quarter – note all Mini variants are included in this total – bumping the VW Golf to #2, though the Golf retains the year-to-date lead. The Mercedes C-Class stays at #3 while the BMW 2 Series rises 79% to take the #4 spot from the 3 Series. Further down the chart, the Audi A1 and A4 are joined by the BMW 5 Series, all entering the Top 20 this quarter.

Previous month: Japan May 2016: Nissan (-26%) and Mitsubishi (-51%) sink

One year ago:: Japan June 2015: Facelifted Toyota Corolla confirms #2 spot

Full June 2016 Top 55 All-brands, Top 30 regular cars, Top 30 kei cars and Q2 2016 Top 20 foreigners.