Japan January 2026: Suzuki Jimny, Nissan Leaf among best performers in negative market
Nissan Leaf sales are up 206.5% thanks to the new generation.
New vehicle sales in Japan drop -2.3% year-on-year in January to 367,748 units. Toyota (-3.5%) drops slightly faster than the market but still manages a strong 31.5% share vs. 29.7% in December. Suzuki (-0.7%) and Honda (-1.8%) are stable above a very dynamic Daihatsu (+10.6%). The Top 11 brands are in the exact same order as the Full Year 2025 ranking. Among them, Lexus (+12%) and Isuzu (+1.1%) are the only ones in positive. Mercedes (-12.6%) – still by far the most popular foreign brand, Nissan (-11.1%) and Mazda (-10.6%) suffer, while Mitsubishi (-3.4%) and Subaru (-5.3%) resist better. Just below, Volkswagen (-41.4%) implodes. BYD (+239.6%) and Porsche (+23.7%) shine but only account for 0.05% and 0.3% share respectively.
Looking at the regular cars charts, the Toyota Yaris/Cross (-31.2%) sinks to just under 11,200 sales, meaning the Toyota Sienta (+5.7%) is the true best-seller once again when Yaris and Yaris Cross sales are separated. The Toyota Raize (+36%) excels at #3, distancing the Toyota Corolla/Cross (-34.4%) and Alphard (-20.3%) both in trouble. Toyota monopolises the Top 7 with the Roomy (+22.9%) and Voxy (+14.5%) in tow and both in excellent shape. The Honda Freed (-7.4%) is the best of the rest at #8. Outstanding performance of the Suzuki Jimny Wagon (+189.9%) inside the Top 10 for the very first time. The Toyota bZ4X is up 6504% to #28 and the Nissan Leaf up 206.5% to #37.
As for kei cars, the Honda N-BOX (+0.9%) is stable and dominates again ahead of the Suzuki Spacia (-5.6%). The Daihatsu Move (+27.7%) overtakes the Daihatsu Tanto (-14.3%) for third place with the Nissan Roox (+41.1%) rounding out the Top 5 like last month and boosted by a new generation. Excellent performance also by the Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK (+31.5%).
Previous post: Japan Full Year 2025: Honda N-BOX and Toyota Sienta top market up 3.3%
One year ago: Japan January 2025: Sales up 12.4% on low year-ago volumes
Full January 2026 Top 46 All brands, Top 50 regular cars and Top 31 All kei cars below.
Japan January 2026 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Jan-26 | % | /25 | Dec |
| 1 | Toyota | 116,007 | 31.5% | – 3.5% | 1 |
| 2 | Suzuki | 60,863 | 16.6% | – 0.7% | 2 |
| 3 | Honda | 49,411 | 13.4% | – 1.8% | 3 |
| 4 | Daihatsu | 45,251 | 12.3% | + 10.6% | 4 |
| 5 | Nissan | 35,296 | 9.6% | – 11.1% | 5 |
| 6 | Mazda | 11,657 | 3.2% | – 10.6% | 6 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi | 9,883 | 2.7% | – 3.4% | 7 |
| 8 | Subaru | 7,791 | 2.1% | – 5.3% | 8 |
| 9 | Lexus | 7,048 | 1.9% | + 12.0% | 10 |
| 10 | Isuzu | 5,404 | 1.5% | + 1.1% | 9 |
| 11 | Mercedes | 3,031 | 0.8% | – 12.6% | 11 |
| 12 | Hino | 2,623 | 0.7% | – 16.1% | 15 |
| 13 | Mitsubishi Fuso | 2,597 | 0.7% | + 45.9% | 12 |
| 14 | Volkswagen | 1,528 | 0.4% | – 41.4% | 14 |
| 15 | BMW | 1,383 | 0.4% | – 16.5% | 13 |
| 16 | Audi | 1,068 | 0.3% | – 18.4% | 16 |
| 17 | Porsche | 976 | 0.3% | + 23.7% | 24 |
| 18 | UD Trucks | 870 | 0.2% | + 1.3% | 19 |
| 19 | Mini | 849 | 0.2% | – 6.9% | 17 |
| 20 | Volvo | 676 | 0.2% | + 2.1% | 18 |
| 21 | Land Rover | 407 | 0.1% | – 47.9% | 22 |
| 22 | Peugeot | 344 | 0.1% | + 3.0% | 21 |
| 23 | Jeep | 313 | 0.1% | – 47.7% | 20 |
| 24 | Renault | 193 | 0.1% | – 15.4% | 27 |
| 25 | BYD | 180 | 0.0% | + 239.6% | 26 |
| 26 | Fiat | 140 | 0.0% | – 44.0% | 25 |
| 27 | Citroen | 132 | 0.0% | – 25.4% | 23 |
| 28 | Alfa Romeo | 128 | 0.0% | + 91.0% | 28 |
| 29 | Ferrari | 110 | 0.0% | + 64.2% | 30 |
| 30 | Hyundai | 80 | 0.0% | + 95.1% | 29 |
| 31 | Alpina | 56 | 0.0% | + 522.2% | 36 |
| 32 | Rolls-Royce | 51 | 0.0% | + 54.5% | 31 |
| 33 | Chevrolet | 39 | 0.0% | + 105.3% | 40 |
| 34 | Lamborghini | 38 | 0.0% | – 20.8% | 33 |
| 35 | Maserati | 35 | 0.0% | + 0.0% | 32 |
| 36 | Aston Martin | 31 | 0.0% | + 19.2% | 37 |
| 37 | Scania | 30 | 0.0% | – 11.8% | 34 |
| 38 | Abarth | 20 | 0.0% | – 80.6% | 38 |
| 39 | McLaren | 19 | 0.0% | – 32.1% | 43 |
| 40 | Bentley | 18 | 0.0% | + 63.6% | 35 |
| 41 | Cadillac | 14 | 0.0% | – 54.8% | 41 |
| 42 | Ford | 14 | 0.0% | + 40.0% | 42 |
| 43 | DS | 12 | 0.0% | – 69.2% | 39 |
| 44 | Lotus | 8 | 0.0% | – 75.8% | 44 |
| 45 | Dodge | 4 | 0.0% | + 33.3% | 45 |
| 46 | Lancia | 3 | 0.0% | + 50.0% | 46 |
| – | Others | 1,117 | 0.3% | + 206.0% | – |
Japan January 2026 – regular cars:
| Pos | Model | Jan-26 | /25 | Dec |
| 1 | Toyota Yaris/Cross | 11,192 | – 31.2% | 1 |
| 2 | Toyota Sienta | 10,145 | + 5.7% | 2 |
| 3 | Toyota Raize | 9,239 | + 36.0% | 3 |
| 4 | Toyota Corolla/Cross | 9,218 | – 34.4% | 4 |
| 5 | Toyota Alphard | 7,860 | – 20.3% | 7 |
| 6 | Toyota Roomy | 7,694 | + 22.9% | 5 |
| 7 | Toyota Voxy | 7,190 | + 14.5% | 9 |
| 8 | Honda Freed | 7,135 | – 7.4% | 6 |
| 9 | Toyota Noah | 6,439 | + 5.3% | 8 |
| 10 | Suzuki Jimny Wagon | 6,322 | + 189.9% | 14 |
| 11 | Nissan Serena | 6,263 | – 6.4% | 10 |
| 12 | Honda Vezel | 6,028 | + 14.4% | 12 |
| 13 | Nissan Note | 5,714 | – 31.1% | 11 |
| 14 | Toyota Aqua | 5,268 | – 17.4% | 16 |
| 15 | Honda StepWGN | 5,205 | + 38.8% | 13 |
| 16 | Toyota Harrier | 4,678 | – 8.5% | 15 |
| 17 | Suzuki Solio | 4,456 | – 22.4% | 17 |
| 18 | Toyota Land Cruiser W | 4,385 | – 13.1% | 21 |
| 19 | Toyota Crown | 4,329 | – 17.2% | 19 |
| 20 | Toyota Prius | 4,103 | – 50.1% | 20 |
| 21 | Honda Fit | 3,435 | – 5.2% | 18 |
| 22 | Toyota Vellfire | 3,317 | + 22.6% | 25 |
| 23 | Subaru Impreza | 2,577 | + 1.3% | 24 |
| 24 | Mazda CX-5 | 2,499 | + 6.4% | 22 |
| 25 | Suzuki Xbee | 2,205 | + 140.7% | 26 |
| 26 | Mitsubishi Delica D5 | 2,073 | – 0.6% | 43 |
| 27 | Honda WR-V | 1,688 | – 44.9% | 30 |
| 28 | Toyota bZ4X | 1,651 | + 6504.0% | 40 |
| 29 | Nissan X-Trail | 1,621 | – 23.8% | 35 |
| 30 | Honda Civic | 1,589 | – 14.7% | 36 |
| 31 | Daihatsu Rocky | 1,573 | – 1.0% | 27 |
| 32 | Suzuki Swift | 1,559 | – 34.8% | 29 |
| 33 | Lexus LBX | 1,557 | – 2.9% | 31 |
| 34 | Subaru Forester | 1,546 | – 11.4% | 23 |
| 35 | Toyota RAV4 | 1,546 | – 27.4% | 42 |
| 36 | Mazda2 | 1,386 | – 34.8% | 28 |
| 37 | Nissan Leaf | 1,376 | + 206.5% | 49 |
| 38 | Lexus NX350H | 1,327 | – 41.5% | 34 |
| 39 | Subaru Levorg | 1,067 | + 13.1% | 32 |
| 40 | Suzuki Fronx | 1,044 | – 24.8% | 39 |
| 41 | Mazda CX-30 | 1,042 | – 9.7% | 33 |
| 42 | Toyota JPN Taxi | 914 | + 1.1% | 46 |
| 43 | Honda ZR-V | 882 | – 59.4% | 41 |
| 44 | Mazda MX-5 (Roadster) | 840 | + 38.4% | n/a |
| 45 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 823 | – 32.5% | n/a |
| 46 | Lexus RX350 | 808 | + 7980.0% | n/a |
| 47 | Mazda CX-60 | 798 | + 474.1% | n/a |
| 48 | Lexus RX500H | 749 | + 6141.7% | 48 |
| 49 | Honda Odyssey | 738 | – 10.1% | n/a |
| 50 | Nissan Kicks | 685 | – 39.8% | 45 |
Japan January 2026 – kei cars:
| Pos | Model | Jan-26 | /25 | Dec |
| 1 | Honda N-BOX | 16,534 | + 0.9% | 1 |
| 2 | Suzuki Spacia | 14,048 | – 5.6% | 2 |
| 3 | Daihatsu Move | 10,533 | + 27.7% | 4 |
| 4 | Daihatsu Tanto | 10,263 | – 14.3% | 3 |
| 5 | Nissan Roox | 9,328 | + 41.1% | 5 |
| 6 | Suzuki Hustler | 7,130 | – 7.7% | 6 |
| 7 | Mitsubishi Delica Mini/eK | 5,362 | + 31.5% | 7 |
| 8 | Suzuki WagonR | 4,958 | – 12.9% | 8 |
| 9 | Daihatsu Mira | 4,256 | – 6.9% | 9 |
| 10 | Suzuki Alto | 3,838 | – 21.9% | 10 |
| 11 | Daihatsu Taft | 3,749 | – 28.7% | 12 |
| 12 | Nissan Dayz | 3,407 | – 22.0% | 11 |
| 13 | Suzuki Jimny | 2,812 | – 35.8% | 13 |
| 14 | Honda N-WGN | 1,965 | – 2.4% | 14 |
| 15 | Suzuki Every Wagon | 1,674 | + 2.4% | 16 |
| 16 | Honda N-ONE | 1,390 | + 40.8% | 15 |
| 17 | Mazda Flair Wagon | 1,303 | – 5.7% | 17 |
| 18 | Subaru Stella | 764 | new | 18 |
| 19 | Daihatsu Copen | 713 | + 76.9% | 21 |
| 20 | Nissan Sakura | 670 | – 70.7% | 20 |
| 21 | Toyota Pixis | 619 | + 13.4% | 19 |
| 22 | Nissan Clipper Rio | 474 | – 27.0% | 22 |
| 23 | Mazda Flair Crossover | 473 | – 33.3% | 23 |
| 24 | Mazda Carol | 437 | + 43.8% | 24 |
| 25 | Mazda Flair | 409 | + 30.3% | 26 |
| 26 | Subaru Chiffon | 205 | – 61.7% | 25 |
| 27 | Subaru Pleo | 177 | – 20.6% | 27 |
| 28 | Mitsubishi eK Cross EV | 94 | – 63.8% | 30 |
| 29 | Toyota Copen GR Sport | 84 | + 127.0% | 29 |
| 30 | Mazda Scrum Wagon | 73 | – 33.6% | 28 |
| 31 | Mitsubishi Town Box | 37 | + 0.0% | 31 |
