Sales boom in Japan

Registrations of new cars in Japan climbed by 13.8 per cent in 2023 when compared to the previous year.

They increased for the first time in five years as manufacturers ramped up production following an ease in the global semi-conductor shortage.

Marques sold 4,779,086 cars domestically last year, including kei-class vehicles with engines of up to 660cc.

That said, the numbers failed to recover to 2019 levels before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers’ Association and Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.

The increase comes after automotive sales in the country dropped to their lowest level in 45 years in 2022 at around 4.2 million units.

Some 1.75m regular passenger cars were sold, hitting a fresh record high for the first time in four years. Sales of cars other than mini-vehicles increased by 18.4 per cent to 3,034,167 in 2023, with seven out of the nine major brands – excluding Daihatsu and Mitsubishi –logging jumps in registrations. 

Toyota saw new-car sales rise by 27.2 per cent to 1,548,594 with Lexus’ growing by about 2.3-fold to 94,645. Nissan gained seven per cent to 291,046 and Honda sold 275,722 units, up by 2.5 per cent.

Sales of kei-class vehicles rose by 6.5 per cent to 1,744,919 units in Japan during 2023. However, Daihatsu, a Toyota subsidiary that holds a large market share in such models, saw sales sink 22.6 per cent in December to 41,067 as it halted shipments amid a safety-test falsification scandal.

A spokesman for the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association says inflation has weighed on sales, even as an introduction of new models and recovery in production helped address order backlogs.

In December alone, new-car sales increased for the 16th consecutive month, rising 5.4 per cent to 362,839 from the same month a year before.