For the fourth consecutive year in 2025, the Honda N-Box was Japan’s best-selling vehicle, significantly outpacing all other competitors.
Honda, Toyota, Suzuki…But Not Nissan
The Honda N-Box, a compact, tall-roofed minivan, remained the top-selling vehicle in Japan for a fourth straight year, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. Despite its small size, the N-Box boasts a surprisingly spacious interior, contributing to the continued popularity of kei-cars – these lightweight vehicles are highly sought after in Japan.
Two years after a complete redesign in the fall of 2023, the Honda N-Box continues to perform strongly, with 201,354 units sold – a limited decrease of 2.4% compared to the previous year.
The Toyota Yaris comes in second place with 166,533 sales, a slight increase of 0.2%, followed by the Suzuki Spacia in third with 165,589 units, down 0.1%.
Daihatsu experienced a significant rebound in 2025 after suffering greatly in 2024 due to a widespread scandal involving falsified certification tests. Sales of the Tanto increased by 32.9%, propelling the model to fifth place, even as the Move saw a remarkable surge of 191.3%, landing it in sixth.
Nissan, however, is absent from the top 10; the Note has disappeared from the rankings as the automaker continues to struggle to turn its business around.
Yellow boxes and asterisks indicate kei-cars. Source: table created by Nippon.com based on data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.
Data Used
(Title photo: Honda’s new black N-Box model, launched in December 2025. © Honda)
