Japan’s new vehicle market expanded by 11% year-on-year to 499,745 in March 2025, up from 451,444 units in the same month last year, according to registration data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The country’s vehicle market last month continued to rebound from weak year-earlier data, when Daihatsu Motor – Toyota Motor’s small car subsidiary – was forced to halt production of a number of key models following a safety test rigging scandal. This also affected other affiliated brands, including Mazda and Subaru.
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In the first quarter of the year, the market expanded by almost 14% to 1,285,351 units from 1,131,140 a year earlier, with sales of passenger cars rising by 14% to 1,103,666 units, while truck sales increased by 11% to 178,086 units and sales of medium and large buses and coaches surged by 23% to 3,599 units.
Toyota’s first-quarter domestic sales rose by 20% to 392,745 units, while Daihatsu’s sales surged almost threefold to 132,590 units from very depressed year-earlier levels, and Mazda’s volumes rebounded by 25% to 49,284 units. Brands not affected by last year’s production stoppages did not perform as well in this period, including Suzuki which saw its sales fall by 2% to 201,038 units, and Nissan with a 9% decline to 133,337 units, while Honda’s sales were unchanged at 184,055 units.
Overseas brands account for just 4% of total vehicle sales in Japan year-to-date, led by German automakers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW-Mini, Audi and Volkswagen.
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