Today, it was reported that BYD sold 1,084 cars in Japan in the first half of this year. What was not so widely reported is that BYD now has a 2.7% share of the Japanese EV market.

The Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA) figures show that imports were 113,887 units in the first half of 2024, down 7% year-on-year. Sales of BEVs, however, were up and now account for nearly 9.5% of the total, up by two percentage points from last year, with a total of 10,785 cars. This means BYD has 10% of the total number of imported EVs.

These sales may not sound much, but domestic Japanese car companies are not strong with their EV offerings. Sales of domestic EVs during the same period amounted to 29,282, according to preliminary data from the Automobile Dealers Association, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association, and the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA). This was a 39% year-on-year decline. That decline was largely because of a 38% drop in the sales of the Nissan Sakura, a five-door micro EV somewhat similar to the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. Light EVs such as the Sakura make up 13,540 units of the total sales – the Sakura itself amounts to 90% of light passenger EV sales.

EVs accounted for 1.6 percent of Japan’s passenger car market during the first half of 2024, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier. While imports generally account for a very small percentage of the Japanese car market, they hold an almost 27% share of the BEV market.

Argus, a market intelligence agency, claims foreign brands dominate the Japanese EV market. They quote a representative of the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA) saying that foreign companies offer a wider range of models than domestic producers.

BYD began selling in Japan on January 31, 2023 with the Atto 3 SUV. Since then, BYD has introduced the Dolphin hatchback in September last year and the Seal sedan in June of this year.

BYD’s sales in Japan in the first half of this year increased by 88% year-on-year. This increase helped BYD move from nineteenth place to fourteenth place in the sales rankings of importers to Japan. Sales in June were 149 units, a 60% year-on-year increase, showing that momentum is continuing. BYD aims to have 90 sales outlets in Japan by the end of the year, up from the current 55. Furthermore, as we have previously reported, BYD aims to storm Japan with sales of 30,000 in 2025.

Sources: Fast Technology, Argus