Japan's domestic sales of foreign-brand electric vehicles (EVs) sales surged in May, but the US' blanket 25pc tariff on automobiles had little impact on this, the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA) told Argus.
Japan's domestic EV sales were largely stable in May from a year earlier at 3,791 units, according to data from three industry groups — the Automobile Dealers Association, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association and JAIA.
Sales of imported EVs surged by more than 60pc on the year to around 2,400 units in May. But this is not because of the US tariffs on automobiles, according to the representative of JAIA who spoke to Argus.
There was some anticipation that a number of foreign EV producers, especially European manufacturers, may divert deliveries meant for the US to Japan, following the US' across-the-board tariff on automobile imports. But the tariff had almost no impact on May sales, the JAIA representative said, adding that JAIA's member firms including major European brands share a similar view.
The increase in foreign-brand EV sales in May can be mostly attributed to robust demand from Japanese consumers, according to JAIA. Foreign manufactures including China's BYD, Germany's BMW, South Korea's Hyundai, and Sweden's Volvo reported a rise in sales, JAIA said. Tesla did not disclose its sales volumes in Japan.
Demand for foreign-brand EVs has risen over the past year. Its share in total domestic EV sales jumped to 63pc in May from 39pc in the same period in 2024. Foreign-brand EVs gained popularity in the Japanese market mostly because they offer a wider variety of EV models compared with domestic manufacturers, according to JAIA.
Meanwhile, the country's domestic brand EV sales stood at around 1,400 units in May, down sharply by around 40pc from a year earlier. This is partly driven by a decrease in sales of Nissan's Sakura, a top-selling domestic model, which almost halved on the year to 858 units.
