The Toyota Yaris vehicle is pictured during the India launch event in Kolkata on May 18, 2018.
(Photo : DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
For the first time in five years, there is a new top-selling passenger car in Japan with the Toyota Yaris taking the coveted spot in 2021. The Yaris sold 212,927 units last year, a 40.3 percent increase compared to its numbers in 2020.
That was enough for Toyota to end the four-year reign of the Honda N-Box at the top. Sales for the N-Box stalled in 2021, with the minicar recording just 188,940 deliveries in Japan last year. That was a 3.6 percent drop compared to its 2020 numbers.
It has been a stunning rise for the Yaris, which Toyota launched back in February 2020 after a redesign of the former Vitz. Toyota decided to go with a complete change of design for the Vitz and adopt a global unification of the new model's name. The Yaris was the result of that overhaul and it has paid great dividends for Toyota.
Toyota Yaris ends Honda N-Box's reign at the top
The Yaris was a popular choice for Japanese consumers, with the vehicle offering a full range of safety features and high fuel efficiency while being priced at the same level as minicars. It quickly became the top-selling standard vehicle in its first year on the market in Japan. Toyota Yaris finished a strong second behind the Honda N-Box in 2020 despite not having a full year of sales in Japan.
Toyota Yaris continued to post strong sales during its second year, becoming the top-selling vehicle overall (including minicars) in Japan in 2021, which was its first full year of sales. It was a great achievement for Toyota, which last topped the passenger car rankings back in 2016 with the Prius.
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Roomy, Corolla and Alphard also land in top 10 for Toyota
It was not just the Yaris that made waves for Toyota in the Japanese market last year. Toyota Roomy enjoyed significant growth in 2021, with the tall wagon's sales increasing by 54.5 percent compared to the previous year. That was enough for the Roomy to nab the third spot in the best-selling vehicle rankings for 2021. Toyota Roomy was ranked just 10th in that department back in 2020.
Toyota had two other models among the 10 top-selling vehicles last year, with the Corolla and the top-of-the-line minivan Alphard finishing in sixth and ninth place, respectively. Toyota's subsidiary Daihatsu also had a strong sales showing last year, with its wagon models Tanto and Move ranking fifth and seventh, respectively.
Suzuki managed to enter the top 10 as well with its Spacia model ranking fourth last year. Nissan rounded out the top 10 with its Note and Roox models. Nissan's mainstay compact car finished ninth while its minicar nabbed the 10th spot in the rankings.
Japan's automobile sales dropped 3.3 percent in 2021 with just 4,448,340 units sold. Car sales have now gone down in Japan in each of the last three years.
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