Japan's July Imported Car Sales Drop 10% YoY as Tesla and BYD Defy Trend

Data released on August 6 showed that Japan's imported car sales (excluding Japanese domestic brands) in July totaled 17,079 units, down 10% year-on-year, ending two consecutive months of growth. Among them, sales of imported battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached 3,056 units, up 28% year-on-year, marking the seventh straight month of positive growth and accounting for 18% of total imported car sales—an increase of 5 percentage points from a year earlier. Sales in the "Other Brands" category, which includes Tesla, reached 1,994 units, surging 95% year-on-year. BYD sold 383 vehicles in Japan in July (including kei cars), up 69% year-on-year. On July 28, BYD launched its all-electric kei car, the "Racco," in Japan, selling 125 units within four days of its debut and accumulating over 700 orders as of August 3. By brand, Mercedes-Benz ranked first with 3,714 units sold, down 15% year-on-year; BMW came second with 2,155 units, down 11%; and Volkswagen placed third with 2,048 units, down 4%. In terms of price segments, sales of vehicles priced above ¥10 million fell 35% year-on-year, those priced between ¥4 million and ¥10 million declined 0.3%, and sales of vehicles under ¥4 million dropped 21% year-on-year.