JAKARTA - Nissan in the last 15 years has always held the top position in the electric vehicle market in Japan, largely thanks to the quite popular Leaf model. However, it seems to be slowly starting to waver.
Nissan's declining interest in electric vehicles and increased demand for new products from competitors has pushed the market into a new phase. For the first time, Nissan was overtaken as the best-selling electric vehicle brand in Japan based on quarterly sales, with Toyota taking the lead in the fourth quarter of 2025.
According to the latest data from the Japanese automotive industry association, Toyota sold 3,684 electric vehicles in the country in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase supported by the launch of the bZ4X in October, citing Carscoops' website, Tuesday, January 13.
Although the figure is still considered small by global standards, the figure shows a thirteen-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, Nissan recorded a 56 percent decline in electric vehicle sales to 2,857 units. Both Leaf and Sakura experienced a decline in demand in the last months of the year.
The momentum is not limited to Toyota. According to Nikkei Asia, Honda also recorded an increase, driven by the launch of the N-One e:. With a range of up to 295 km. Honda sold 2,732 units in the fourth quarter, an increase that was enough to surpass Tesla, which also recorded an increase in sales figures.
Although sales of electric vehicles (EV) have increased rapidly in most of the world over the past few years, electric vehicles still only account for a small portion of the Japanese market. Currently, electric vehicles only account for 1.9 percent of total new car sales in the country.
Several new models scheduled to be launched in 2026 could help boost those numbers, and the government is also working to accelerate the transition.
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