Japan November 2016: Nissan Note e-powers through to pole position

Nissan Note e-Power

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 58 All-brands, Top 30 cars and Top 35 kei cars – see title *

After two months in negative, the Japanese new vehicle market is back on track in November at +7% to 417.602 registrations. The year-to-date tally however still lags behind the same period in 2015 at -2% to 4.572.726 units. Market leader Toyota beats the market at +8% to 30.3% share, still over double the sales of its immediate follower, Honda up 9% to 13.9%. Daihatsu edges up 0.2% to 12.2%, passing Suzuki (+1.4%) for just 52 units. Nissan gains 14%, Subaru is up 17%, Mitsubishi up 22% and Isuzu up 23% but Lexus (-8%) is the only brand in negative in the Top 12. There are no foreign carmakers in the Top 10 for the first time since April, with Mercedes (+6%) sliding down to #11 followed by BMW (+25%), Volkswagen (-9%), Mini (+20%), Audi (+19%) and Volvo (+37%). Notice also Citroen up 59%, Jeep up 73%, Jaguar up 115% and Abarth up 122%.

Nissan Note e-Power  

Thunder strikes in the models ranking: the Nissan Note leaps directly to pole position with a stunning 15.784 sales thanks to the launch of the new model, and specifically the e-power variant, an all-new hybrid powertrain with no plug-in. It consists of a  79 PS/103 Nm 1.2 litre three-cylinder engine only present to feed the 109 PS/254 Nm electric motor from the Leaf: the petrol mill is not connected to the driven wheels, so none of its power actually reaches the ground. Nissan says that the system allows drivers to enjoy the benefits of an electric motor – such as maximum torque from standstill – without having to worry about charging the battery. The presence of the range extender also means that the battery can be made much smaller (just 1/20th the size of the one in the Leaf), enabling it to be placed under the front seats to maintain interior space. All-in-all, the Note e-Power delivers a fuel economy figure of up to 37.2 km per litre on the Japanese JC08 cycle. This according to paultan.org.

The Toyota Tank and Roomy both land directly inside the Japanese Top 30 in November.

The Toyota Prius (+121%) is relegated to 2nd place ahead of the Toyota Aqua (-19%), Sienta (+14%) and Honda Freed (+262%). Notice also the Nissan Serena up 92% year-on-year but down 4 spots on October to #7, the Toyota Vellfire up 52% to #11, the Toyota Passo up 51% to #12, Subaru Impreza up 94%, the Subaru Forester up 44% to #22 and the Mazda CX-3 reappearing in the ranking at #30. Two all-new launches directly land inside the Japanese Top 30 in November: the Toyota Tank (#26) and Roomy (#27) which along with the Daihatsu Thor and Subaru Justy are replacing the Toyota Ractis, bB and Daihatsu Coo Materia. In the kei car aisle, the Honda N-BOX (+5%), Daihatsu Move (+69%) and Tanto (-6%) dominate.

Previous month: Japan October 2016: Nissan Serena shoots up to #3 as market nudges down

One year ago: Japan November 2015: Toyota Voxy up, Volkswagen down 32%

Full November 2016 Top 58 All-brands, Top 30 cars and Top 35 kei cars below.