Japan September 2023: VW T-Roc up to #3 foreigner, market up 10.7%

VW T-Roc

New vehicle sales in Japan soar 10.7% year-on-year in September to 437,493 units, meaning the year-to-date volume is now up 15.6% to 3,607,486. Toyota (+18%) once again beats the market but at 31.1% share it remains below its YTD volume of 33.5%. Suzuki (+5.6%) follows at 14.1% share ahead of Daihatsu (+6.8%) at 12.7%, Honda (+11.7%) at 12.4% and Nissan (+10.6%) at 10.7%. In fact the Top 7 brands are unchanged on last month and YTD, with Mazda (-23.7%) and Mitsubishi (+21.6%) in tow. Below, Lexus (+85.9%), Isuzu (+21.9%) and Mitsubishi Fuso (+55%) impress while among foreigners Audi (+20.3%), Jeep (+35.8%), Porsche (+31.2%), Land Rover (+64.3%) and Citroen (+50.6%) impress.

In the regular car ranking, the Toyota Yaris/Cross (+5.1%) and Corolla/Cross (+43.4%) top the charts again while the Toyota Sienta (+49.1%) and Roomy (+57.8%) follow in excellent shape. The Nissan Note (+4.9%) is back up 3 spots on August to #5, distancing the Toyota Prius (+214.4%) and Noah (+10.5%). The Nissan Serena (+42.4%) also shines in the remainder of the Top 10 but the Toyota Voxy (-6.9%) and Aqua (-10.8%) fall. Below, the Toyota Vellfire (+1036%), Crown (+118.2%), Harrier (+102.9%) and Honda StepWGN (+92.4%) stand out.

First foreigner Top 20 finish for the VW ID.4 

Looking at kei cars, the Honda N-BOX (+6.6%) easily remains on top and is also by far the best-selling vehicle in the country. The Daihatsu Tanto (+47.1%), Suzuki Spacia (+35.7%) and Suzuki Hustler (+34.2%) all post fantastic scores while the Daihatsu Move (+11.5%) ensure the Top 5 in unchanged on August. The Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK (+118.5%) and Nissan Dayz (+39.2%) also shine.

The Mini Lineup (-10.3%) remains the best-selling foreign ‘model’, distancing the VW Golf (+48.7%) rallying back. The VW T-Roc (+121.1%) shoots up 9 spots on Q2 to #3 while the Mercedes C-Class (-28.1%) continues to decline. The VW T-Cross (-3.3%) is up 12 ranks on Q2 to #5 but drops year-on-year. The BMW 3 Series (+66.7%), Audi A3 (+65.3%) and Volvo XC40 (+29.6%) all post fantastic gains as do the Mercedes G Class (+35.8%) and BMW X1 (+50.2%). The VW ID.4 (#16) and Audi Q4 (#19) break into the Top 20 for the first time.

Previous month: Japan August 2023: Toyota places 7 models in Top 7 regular car ranking

One year ago: Japan September 2022: First market lift in 15 months at +24.1%

Full September 2023 Top 50 All brands, Top 50 regular cars, Top 35 All kei cars and Q3 2023 Top 20 imports below.