Japan August 2022: Suzuki (+7.1%) up to #2, Mitsubishi (+33%), Mazda (+18.4%) shine in market off -9.3%

Suzuki Alto sales are up 40.6% year-on-year in August.

New vehicle sales in Japan drop -9.3% year-on-year in August to 290,042 units as parts shortage continue to hamper production. The year-to-date volume is off -13.8% to 2,725,555 sales. Toyota (-26.4%) continues to suffer from supply issues and endures the largest year-on-year drop in the Top 8. Its market share is at 27.4% vs. 30% so far this year. Suzuki (+7.1%) posts a solid gain to climb to #2, a ranking it now also holds year-to-date. Daihatsu (-5%) and Honda (-7.3%) are both in negative but manage to contain their loss below the market rate. Below, Nissan (+8.6%), Mazda (+18.4%), Subaru (+12.2%) and Mitsubishi (+33%) all score fantastic lifts. Mercedes (-13.5%) remains the most popular foreign carmaker at #10, it distances Volkswagen (-17.1%) at #13 and BMW (-6.5%) at #15. Land Rover (+74.6%), Ferrari (+48.5%), Renault (+24.3%) and Volvo (+12.8%) all manage double-digit upticks.

First Top 50 appearance for the Mazda CX-60.

Looking at the regular cars ranking, the Toyota Yaris/Yaris Cross (-24%) easily retains the top spot despite a hefty fall. The Nissan Note (+10%) exchange positions with the Toyota Corolla/Corolla Cross (+3.2%) to rank #2 overall. The Nissan Serena (+22.6%) and Honda StepWGN (+58.7%) sport fantastic lifts in the remainder of the Top 10 just as the Toyota Aqua (-52.8%) and Toyota Roomy (-52.4%) implode. Below, Suzuki Solio (+29.6%), Toyota Land Cruiser W (+12%), Mazda CX-5 (+113.2%), Nissan X-Trail (+162.3%), Mitsubishi Outlander (+2390.8%) and Subaru Forester (+28.2%) make themselves noticed. The Mazda CX-60 makes its first appearance within the Japanese Top 50 at #50.

The Nissan Sakura is now among the Top 10 kei cars in Japan.

In the kei car aisle, the Honda N-BOX (-15.9%) and Suzuki Spacia (-27.4%) both suffer, note the N-BOX is vastly outsold by the Yaris/Yaris Cross this month. The Daihatsu Move (-4.3%) is down one spot on July to #3, ahead of the Suzuki Wagon R (+5.3%) and Daihatsu Tanto (-37.7%). The Suzuki Alto (+40.6%) scores by far the largest rise in the Top 10 with the Nissan Roox (+3.9%) also in positive. The Nissan Sakura BEV breaks into the Top 10 at #10, an excellent start for a BEV in Japan. The Suzuki Jimny (+84.7%), Mazda Flair Crossover (+70.8%) and Subaru Chiffon (+65.3%) are also in great shape below.

Previous month: Japan July 2022: Mitsubishi (+70.4%), Subaru (+34.8%) impress in first single-digit market drop in almost a year (-7.4%)

One year ago: Japan August 2021: Toyota (+6%) again ignores negative market (-2.1%), Aqua up to #3

Full August 2022 Top 55 all brands, Top 50 regular cars and Top 35 all kei cars below.