Japan’s domestic new vehicle market declined by 3.4% year-on-year to 381,756 units in October 2026, down from 395,189 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA). Sales of light passenger vehicles fell by just under 3% to 318,813 units, while truck sales increased by 6.3% to 61,968 units and sales of buses and coaches surged by 41% to 975 units.
Last month’s market decline followed several months of growth, supported by the discontinuation of the prefectural Environmental Performance Tax at the end of March and the fulfilment of order backlogs by vehicle manufacturers. Consumer sentiment has improved in recent months, reflecting rises in household incomes, which have offset recent interest rate hikes by the central bank and other rising cost-of-living pressures.
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In the first ten months of the year, vehicle sales increased by 1.7% to 3,927,177 units, after rising by over 4% to 3,860,597 units a year earlier. Light passenger vehicle sales increased by 0.9% to 3,280,043 units, while truck sales rose by 5.9% to 636,574 units, led by a 12% rise in light truck sales to 173,498 units. Sales of medium and large buses and coaches surged by 25% to 10,560 units in this period.
The Toyota brand led the overall market higher with a 4.9% sales rise to 1,249,939 units year-to-date, underpinned by strong sales of commercial vehicles, while the group’s Daihatsu subsidiary saw its sales rise slightly to 451,627 units. Suzuki’s sales declined by over 1% to 612,238 units, while Honda’s sales were slightly higher at 528,768 units and Nissan’s sales rose by 2.5% to 355,515 units.
Overseas brands, comprising mostly German brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW-Mini, Audi, and Volkswagen, and increasingly Chinese brands such as BYD, accounted for almost 5% of total vehicle sales in Japan. Combined sales fell by 1.5% to 198,437 units in the first ten months of the year.
GlobalData expects light vehicle sales in the country to decline slightly to 4.51 million units in 2026, after sales rose by 3% to 4.52 million units in 2025, before declining by 4% to 4.32 million units in 2027.
