Sales growth in Japan

Sales of new vehicles in Japan increased to 324,064 units in May, a four per cent jump from the same period last year when 312,406 units were sold.

The latest data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association shows the number of new passenger car registrations alone grew by three per cent last month and totalled 269,489.

That has led to 1.66 million passenger car sales in the first five months of 2025, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase from the January to May period last year.

Toyota’s domestic new passenger vehicle sales increased by 17 per cent to 544,028 units year-to-date, while the performance of its subsidiary Daihatsu soared by 245 per cent to 152,537 registrations.

The numbers reflect the Japanese market’s recovery from weak levels a year ago, when Daihatsu Motor halted production of a number of models after a safety test scandal. 

Mazda has sold 65,686 passenger cars year-to-date, up 20 per cent, while Suzuki’s sales rose by one per cent to 265,277.

In contrast, Honda’s numbers for the past five months were down four per cent to 258,268 units, Nissan suffered an 11 per cent drop to 153,214 and Mitsubishi slipped three per cent to 43,996.