Japan June 2021: Toyota Roomy teases Yaris for #1, sales up 5.3%

The Toyota Roomy ends the month just 600 sales off topping the regular car charts.

New vehicle sales in Japan gain 5.3% year-on-year in June to 365.631 units, leading to a year-to-date tally up 11.6% to 2.464.586. Brand leaders Toyota (+16.3%) and Daihatsu (+23%) both evolve way above the market growth rate to reach 33% and 13.8% share respectively vs. 31.9% and 12.9% so far this year. Quite strikingly, all remaining Top 7 brands are actually down year-on-year, with Nissan (-22.6%) and Suzuki (-18.8%) the hardest hit, while Subaru (-11%), Mazda (-8.4%) and Honda (-1.4%) resisting a little better. After a 5-month hiatus, Mercedes (+31.5%) is back inside the Top 10 brands in Japan, up three spots on May to #8 and the only foreigner in the Top 10. Isuzu (+10.1%) and Hino (+9.8%) are also very solid and round out the Top 10. Below, a long list of brands vastly outpace the market, including Citroen (+134.5%), Alfa Romeo (+107.3%), Land Rover (+90.1%), Peugeot (+88%), Volkswagen (+84.8%), Ferrari (+80.6%), Audi (+71.5%), Maserati (+61.1%), Lexus (+54%) and Renault (+53.4%).

Like last month Toyota holds the Top 5 spots in the regular car charts. The Toyota Yaris (+36.2%) is once again the best-seller (sales include the Yaris Cross) but this month its supremacy is threatened by the Toyota Roomy (+174.1%). The Roomy has been going from strength to strength since its twin the Tank was discontinued, in essence doubling its sales year-on-year. The Toyota Corolla (-1.3%) closes the podium in negative, ahead of the Toyota Alphard (+33.9%) and Harrier (+70.7%) both in excellent shape. The Honda Vezel (+116%), Toyota Voxy (+41.1%) and RAV4 (+28.5%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 10. Further down, notice the Lexus IS300H (+2055.2%), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (+247.2%), Nissan March (+156.7%) and Honda Odyssey (+97.1%) making waves. In the kei cars charts, the Honda N-BOX (+12.4%) extends its lead over the Suzuki Spacia (-21.2%) with the Daihatsu Move (+81.8%), Suzuki Alto (+50.7%) and Daihatsu Tanto (+24%) faring well near the top.

As far as foreign models are concerned, over Q2 2021 the Mini lineup (-21.9%) remains atop the charts while the VW Golf (-36.5%) surges back from outside the Q1 Top 20 directly to #2 thanks to the new generation, yet with a damning year-on-year loss. The BMW 3 Series (-14.6%) stays in third place while the VW T-Roc slices its Q1 ranking in two to reach a record 4th place. The Jeep Wrangler (+17.8%) is the only remaining Top 10 model in positive, with the VW T-Cross (-44.2%) and Mercedes A-Class (-43.8%) taking hefty tolls. Other gainers include the Mercedes GLB at #11, the Audi A3 at #13, Mercedes G-Class at #16, Audi Q3 at #17, Mercedes GLA at #19 and Jeep Renegade at #20.

Previous month: Japan May 2021: Suzuki (+103.6%), Daihatsu (+100.2%) outclass market up 46.3%

One year ago: Japan June 2020: Toyota Raize now #1 YTD, Suzuki Hustler, Daihatsu Taft and Mercedes G-Class impress in market down -22.9%

Full June 2021 Top 52 All-brands, Top 50 regular cars, Top 34 kei cars and Q2 2021 Top 20 foreign cars below.