Japan’s domestic new vehicle market expanded by 1.3% year-on-year to 433,683 units in September 2026, after falling by 2.4% to 428,216 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA). Sales of passenger vehicles rose by 0.9% to 360,743 units, while truck sales increased by 2.8% to 71,894 units and sales of buses and coaches surged by 23% to 1,046 units.
Japan’s vehicle market in the last five months has been 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 also begun to improve, reflecting household income growth, which has offset recent interest rate hikes by the central bank and other rising cost-of-living pressures.
In the first nine months of the year, vehicle sales increased by 2.3% to 3,545,421 units, after rising by 5% to 3,465,408 units a year earlier, with passenger vehicle sales increasing by 1.3% to 2,961,230 units, while truck sales were up by 7.4% to 574,606 units, led by a 12% rise in light truck sales to 173,498 units. Sales of medium and large buses and coaches surged by 24% to 9,585 units in this period.
Toyota led the overall market higher year-to-date with a 6.2% sales rise to 1,128,193 units, driven by strong sales of commercial vehicles, while the group’s Daihatsu subsidiary saw its sales rise by 3.2% to 403,161 units. Suzuki’s sales declined by less than 1% to 551,134 units, while Honda’s sales were slightly higher at 477,428 units and Nissan’s sales rose by 2.3% to 326,316 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 2% to 180,047 units in the first nine months of the year.
GlobalData expects light vehicle sales in the country to be 1% lower at 4.47 million units in 2026, after sales rose by 3% to 4.52 million units in 2025, followed by a 4% decline to 4.32 million units in 2027.
