Toyota Yaris Surpasses Honda N-Box as Top-Selling Car in 2021

The Honda N-Box, the top-selling passenger car in Japan for the past four years, has finally dropped into second place, overtaken by the Toyota Yaris. In the 2021 ranking, the Yaris sold 212,927 units, up 40.3% over 2020, when it finished second. Meanwhile, sales for the “tall wagon”-style minicar Honda N-Box stalled at 188,940 units, down 3.6% year on year.

The Toyota Yaris was launched in February 2020 after a complete redesign of the former Vitz for the first time in nine years and the global unification of the model’s name. The Yaris has met the needs of a wide range of consumers through a lineup priced at the same level as minicars, while offering high fuel efficiency and a full range of safety features. In its first year on the market, it became the top-selling standard vehicle, and during its second year—the first full year of sales—it became the top-selling vehicle overall (including minicars).

Yellow highlighting indicates minicars. Created by Nippon.com based on data from Japan Automobile Dealers Association and Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.

Toyota has not topped the passenger car rankings since 2016, when the Toyota Prius was the top-selling vehicle. The tall wagon Toyota Roomy also enjoyed significantly higher sales in 2021, up 54.5% over the previous year, while the standard Corolla and Toyota’s top-of-the-line minivan, the Alphard, were among the 10 top-selling vehicles in 2021. Daihatsu, a Toyota subsidiary that mainly sells minicars, ranked high for its wagon models Tanto and Move.

Nissan struggled in 2021, but its mainstay compact car and its minicar, the Note and the Roox, were both ranked in the top 10.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)