Japan February 2021: Market edging up 0.5%, Mitsubishi (+16.8%), Lexus (+12.4%) in good shape

The eK is Mitsubishi’s best-selling vehicle in Japan. Picture response.jp

New vehicle sales in Japan edge up 0.5% year-on-year in February to 432.299 units, bringing the year-to-date tally up 3.3% to 816.741. The Top 3 carmakers outpace the market this month: Toyota (+5.2%), Suzuki (+9%) and Daihatsu (+1.2%) are in good shape whereas Honda (-13.7%) and Nissan (-3.7%) struggle. The Top 8 brands are unchanged on January with Mitsubishi (+16.8%) the best performer and Mazda (+1.3%) also in positive. Isuzu (+6%) and Hino (+3%) round out the Top 10 in strong fashion while Lexus (+12.4%) shines just outside. Mercedes (-8.4%) remains the most popular foreign carmaker but is in decline unlike BMW (+13.6%). Volkswagen (-42.2%) is in freefall while Peugeot (+45.9%), Renault (+39%), Porsche (+26.1%), Mini (+14.6%) and Jeep (+10.2%) all post fantastic scores below.

In the regular car ranking, the Toyota Yaris (+488.9%) celebrates one year in market above 20.000 monthly sales – keep in mind the Yaris Cross is included in these figures. Both the Toyota Roomy (+55.6%) and Alphard (+92.8%) benefit from the recent or soon-to-be discontinuation of their twin nameplates to shoot up again while the Toyota Harrier (+267.4%) is boosted by a new generation. Reversely, the Toyota Corolla (-11.4%), Raize (-20.8%) and Note (-26.9%) suffer. Other great performers further down the ranking include the Subaru Levorg (+287.9%), Mazda CX-3 (+167.6%), Honda Odyssey (+125.2%), Mazda CX-8 (+67.7%), Mitsubishi Delica D5 (+62%), Suzuki Jimny Wagon (+34.5%) and Toyota Land Cruiser W (+33.9%).

The Honda N-BOX (-3.1%) continues to easily dominate the kei cars charts at over 18.500 sales, with the Suzuki Spacia advancing 9.9% in 2nd place. The Daihatsu Tanto (-4.3%) completes a podium unchanged on January and FY2020. The Nissan Roox overtakes the Daihatsu Move (-15.7%) to 4th place overall while the Suzuki Hustler (+41.5%) scores by far the highest gain in the Top 10. Reversely the Nissan Dayz (-56.4%) and Daihatsu Mira (-17.1%) are in trouble. The recently launched Daihatsu Taft slips out of the Top 10 at #11 with its honeymoon launch period slowly coming to an end and the nameplate finding its long-term level now. Outstanding performances by the Honda N-ONE (+767%), Suzuki Jimny (+77.1%), Toyota Pixis (+49.6%) and Mitsubishi eK (+18.3%).

Previous month: Japan January 2021: Toyota (+13.8%), Lexus (+13.6%) shine in market up 6.8%

One year ago: Japan February 2020: Toyota Raize #1 again, Honda N-WGN up, Toyota Yaris in, 5th double-digit drop (-10.3%)

Full February 2021 Top 56 All-brands, Top 50 regular models and Top 34 All kei cars below.