Japanese market grows by 15.8% in 2023 compared to 2022
- The Japanese passenger cars market experienced a recovery in 2023, of around 15.8% compared to 2022, with a volume of 3,992,728 units compared to 3,448,298 in 2022, 3,675,698 in 2021 and 3,809,981 in 2020. In Japan too, the recovery of missed sales from the 2020-2022 period was only partial, as nearly 2 million units lost were only compensated by a growth of 500,000 units, in 2023, meaning a quarter of what would have been needed.
- However, the Japanese automobile market came very close to the 4 million unit mark last year, while remaining below the volumes reached between 2012 and 2019, which were between 4.2 million and 4.7 million units. The year 2022 seems to have reach the bottom with a volume of nearly 3.5 million units equivalent to the 2011 year, when Japan was hit by a tsunami causing major damage. The year 2024 should show a small increase in sales compared to 2023.
- By carmaker, the Toyota group (Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu) still represents almost half of new cars sold in Japan (48% in 2023), far ahead of Honda (14%), Suzuki (13%), Nissan (10%) and Mazda (4%). If Suzuki is well ahead of Nissan (former number 2 in the last quarter of the 20th century), it is due to its small cars which represent half of the Kei Cars sold in Japan. And today, this market segment represents a third of the Japanese market, explaining the position of Suzuki (and its competitor Daihatsu, owned by Toyota) in this market. Imports have represented 6% of the Japanese market for around twenty years, and we will still be in this share in 2023.