Japan' s New Car Sales Ranking in May 2019

New car sales data for the Japanese market in May 2019 is available now. What was the most popular car this spring? 

10 best-selling passenger cars

1. Prius (Toyota) 11,005 units
2. NOTE (Nissan) 8,058 units
3. AQUA (Toyota) 7,845 units
4. ROOMY (Toyota) 7,728 units
5. SIENTA (Toyota) 7,580 units
6. Corolla (Toyota) 7,311 units
7. RAV4 (Toyota) 6,817 units
8. FREED (Honda) 6,579 units
9. Fit (Honda) 6,531 units
10. SERENA (Nissan) 6,430 units
    
    Source: Japan Automobile Dealers Association

Six of the 10 top-selling models are Toyota cars, with two each from Nissan and Honda. Besides the ROOMY, which is a minivan in fourth place, all other cars are either hybrids or models which are more towards the hybrid feature. ※ Mini cars with engine capacity of 660cc or less are excluded.

5 models with the highest growth rate compared to last year 

1. Jimny Sierra (Suzuki)  +1,252.9%
2. Forester (Subaru) +306.3%
3. Crown (Toyota) +283.9%
4. Camry (Toyota) +151.8%
5. DELICA D5 (Mitsubishi Motor) +149.5%
   
   Source: Japan Automobile Dealers Association

In terms of growth rate relative to May 2018 sales, there were huge differences in the ranking.  Sales of the first-ranked Jimny Sierra were 12.5 times higher than in May 2018. Only 639 vehicles were sold however. Yet since Suzuki originally estimated monthly sales of the Jimny Sierra to be around 100 units, this result represents the plant's full capacity. It takes about a year for owners to take delivery of the car after ordering. 

Significant increase in sales volume due to full model change

The second-placed Subaru Forester and third-ranked Toyota Crown both had a significant increase in sales volume after a model change. The fourth-placed Toyota Camry  hybrid version is highly rated as actual fuel consumption exceeds 20 km/liter even though it  is a large sedan, and the sales are increasing. For the Mitsubishi DELICA D5 in fifth spot, customers have welcomed a major redesign last year with a new powertrain featuring a 2.2-liter diesel engine and 8-speed automatic transmission.

Several of these models are only sold in Japan. Are there any that you would like to own?