German Brands Most Popular with Japanese Drivers of Foreign Cars

US President Donald Trump’s recent complaints about Japan’s low imports of US cars hit the headlines. One of the key reasons is that US cars are too big for Japan’s many narrow roads and parking spaces. Instead, German cars are most popular with Japanese buyers.

In 2024, foreign automakers’ car sales in Japan fell by 8.5% year-on-year to 227,202 vehicles. Hampered by the situation in the Middle East disrupting maritime shipping and rising product prices, due to soaring raw material costs, this was the first year-on-year decline in two years.

By brand, Mercedes-Benz led the way by far with vehicle sales of 53,194. This was the tenth consecutive year Mercedes-Benz ranked top. It was followed by four other German automakers: BMW with 35,140 vehicle sales, Volkswagen with 22,778, Audi with 21,415, and Mini (BMW) with 17,165; Porsche also appeared in eighth place.

The only US brand to make the top 10 was Jeep with 9,512.

The total sales volume of US car brands (marked in red on the graph) in 2024 was approximately 11,400, or less than a tenth of the 159,500 German brand vehicles sold (marked in blue).

German cars have gradually increased their presence in the Japan market since the 1980s, with particular brands becoming established. Although sales of US car brands saw a temporary increase in the mid-1990s, due to a “foreign car boom” while the yen was high, they have since slowed because of focus shifting to fuel efficiency and a rising trend for environmentally friendly vehicles.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: BMW 1 Series (left), Volkswagen Golf (top right), and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV (bottom right). All images © Jiji.)