By Daisuke Narahashi

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

New vehicle sales in Japan reached 2.18 million units in the first half of fiscal 2025 through September, up 0.5% from the same period the previous year.

It was the first time in two years that the sales rose in the first half of a fiscal year, according to data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association on Wednesday.

The timing of launching new models has become a decisive factor in how automakers fare now that Japanese companies are placing more emphasis on the domestic market since the U.S. government imposed additional tariffs on imported vehicles in April.

The number of newly registered vehicles including trucks and cargo vehicles but excluding kei lightweight cars, was 1.37 million units, down 1.8% year-on-year. The number of newly registered kei cars was up 4.7%, standing at 807,723.

Sales of Nissan Motor Co., which is undergoing restructuring, dropped 16.5% to 185,672 units. The drop was influenced by the fact that the automaker has been unable to launch major new models since 2022. Honda Motor Co. saw its sales drop by 11.6% to 293,079 units, as its strong sales of its popular N-Box kei car series, which underwent major renovations in 2023, hit a lull.

On the other hand, five other major domestic automakers saw its sales increase. Toyota Motor Corp. sold 972,005 units, up 6% year-on-year, including those sold under the brands of Lexus and Daihatsu Motor Co. Sales of Daihatsu rebounded after the automaker temporarily halted shipments last year after it was found to have falsified engine tests. Daihatsu released a new model in June for the first time in almost three years, which also became a tailwind for Toyota's sales. Subaru Corp. also enjoyed brisk sales, helped by the launch of a new model this spring.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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October 02, 2025 22:57 ET (02:57 GMT)

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