Japan January 2020: Toyota Raize #1, Subaru (+39.9%) only Top 12 brand in positive in 4th straight double-digit market fall (-11.7%)

The Toyota Raize is the #1 regular car in Japan for its 3rd month in market.

New car sales in Japan skid another -11.7% year-on-year in January to 360.103 units, the 4th consecutive double-digit drop after -24.2% in October, -12.7% in November and -11% in December. Regular cars sink -11.1% to 221.464 and kei cars slide -12.8% to 138.639. Brand leader Toyota (-4.3%) resists much better than the market to lodge a 29.7% market share, distancing Suzuki (-11.7%) at 14.2%, Daihatsu (-14.1%) at 13.2%, Honda (-23.9%) at 13% and Nissan (-20.8%) at 11.7%. Subaru (+39.9%) is the only Top 12 carmaker able to post a gain, and a lavish one at that. Mercedes (-5.1%), Isuzu (-8.1%) and Mazda (-8.5%) also resist with single-digit drops. Further down, Lamborghini (+213%), DS (+61.9%), Ferrari (+55.2%), Audi (+47.2%), Citroen (+42.3%), McLaren (+38.9%), Jeep (+32.5%), Volvo (+13.9%), Bentley (+12.5%), Porsche (+6.2%), Land Rover (+2.9%), Peugeot (+0.9%) and Volkswagen (+0.3%) stand out with upticks among the Top 40 brands.

Subaru surges 39.9% and the Impreza is up 111.7% to #14.

The Toyota Raize manages the exploit of taking the lead of the regular models charts for only its third month in market, scoring its first five-digit volume in the process: an instant blockbuster. It outpaces the Toyota C-HR which took 5 months to reach #1 back in April 2017. The Toyota Corolla (+29.2%) posts a 5th straight double-digit year-on-year gain thanks to the arrival of the new generation sedan and station wagon, whereas the next 3 best-sellers all fall apart: the Nissan Note (-34.2%), Toyota Sienta (-20.6%) and Nissan Serena (-32.9%). Below the Honda Freed (+0.9%) essentially stabile, 2019’s leader the Toyota Prius (-23.6%) is relegated to a paltry 7th place, its lowest ranking in over four years (since November 2015).

The Urus lifts Lamborghini sales up 213% in January.

The other recent launches (<12 months) in the Top 50 don’t fare nearly as well as the Raize: The Toyota RAV4 (#11) is down 3 spots on December, the Daihatsu Rocky (#21) is down 5, the Mazda CX-30 (#22) down 4, the Mazda2 (#28) is stable and the Mazda3 (#39) is down 16 ranks. The Subaru Impreza (+111.7%) hits its highest ranking since October 2017 at #14, with the Lexus RX300 (+140%), RX450H (+115.1%), Subaru WRX (+76.6%), Mitsubishi Delica D5 (+44.8%), Subaru Forester (+36.3%), Levorg (+8.7%) and Toyota Esquire (+6.1%) posting the only additional gains in the Top 50. Over in the kei car ranking, the Honda N-BOX (-1.2%) easily stays on top with just under 19.000 sales ahead of the Nissan Dayz (+5.4%), Suzuki Spacia (-13.5%) and Daihatsu Tanto (-6%), these four nameplates all outselling the Toyota Raize. The Suzuki Hustler (+0.3%), the only Top 12 kei car in positive.

Previous post: Japan Full Year 2019: Toyota Prius reclaims lead but Corolla and Raize end on a high in market down -1.5%

One year ago: Japan January 2019: Kei cars dominate models ranking, Suzuki Spacia and Nissan Serena strong

Full January 2020 Top 53 All-brands, Top 50 regular cars and Top 32 All kei cars below.