The fleet of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan totaled just over 300,000 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles in circulation at the end of 2020, consisting of 156,381 all-electric passenger cars, 136,700 plug-in hybrids, and 9,904 light-commercial vehicles. Select Historical: "EV stock" and "EV stock share" + Transport mode: "Cars" and "Vans" + Region" "Japan"
The rate of growth of the Japanese plug-in segment slowed from 2013, with annual sales falling behind Europe, the U.S. and China since then. The segment market share fell from 0.68% in 2014 to 0.59% in 2016. Then the market share increased to 1.2% in 2017, and fell to 1.1% in 2018. Norway surpassed Japan as the country with the third largest plug-in car stock in use in 2019. See Statistical annex, pp. 247–252 (See Tables A.1 and A.12). The market share fell further to 0.7% in 2019 and 0.6% in 2020. The decline in plug-in car sales reflects the Japanese government and the major domestic carmakers decision to adopt and promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead of plug-in electric vehicles, although the first commercially produced hydrogen fuel cell automobiles began in 2015.
, the Nissan Leaf all-electric car ranked as the all-time top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country, with over 100,000 units sold since December 2010. Ranking second is the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with 34,830 units delivered through August 2016, followed by the Toyota Prius PHV with 22,100 units sold through April 2016.
, Japan was the country with the highest ratio of quick charging points to electric vehicles (EVSE/EV), with a ratio of 0.030 . The country's charging infrastructure included 1,381 public quick-charge stations and around 300 non-domestic slow charger points. See pp. 4, 6-8, and 11-12. The Japanese government had set up a target to deploy 2 million slow chargers and 5,000 fast charging points by 2020.
Introduction and sales
Cumulative light-duty plug-in electric vehicle sales in Japan totaled about 151,250 units between July 2009 and December 2016, consisting of 86,390 all-electric cars (57.1%) and 64,860 plug-in hybrids (42.9%). See pp. 5–7, 12–22, 27–28, and Statistical annex, pp. 49–51. At the end of 2016, Japan ranked as the world's third largest light-duty plug-in vehicle country market after the China and the U.S. An estimated 2,032,000 highway-legal plug-in passenger cars and vans have been sold worldwide at the end of 2016. The top selling markets are China (645,708 new energy cars, including imports), Europe (638,000 plug-in cars and vans), and the United States (570,187 plug-in cars). The top European country markets are Norway (135,276), the Netherlands (113,636), France (108,065), and the UK (91,000). Total Chinese sales of domestically produced new energy vehicles, including buses and truck, totaled 951,447 vehicles. China was the top selling plug-in car market in 2016, and also has the world's largest stock of plug-in electric cars. , total Japanese sales of light-duty plug-in vehicles represent 8.1% of the global stock of plug-ins. The plug-in segment sales climbed from 1,080 units in 2009 to 12,630 in 2011, and reached 24,440 in 2012. Only all-electric cars were sold in the country between 2009 and 2011. Global sales of pure electric cars in 2012 were led by Japan with a 28% market share of the segment sales. Japan ranked second after the U.S. in terms of its share of plug-in hybrid sales in 2012, with 12% of global sales.
About 30,600 highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles were sold in the country in 2013, A total of 10,877 units were sold in Japan during the first nine months of 2014. representing a 0.58% market share of the 5.3 million new automobiles and kei cars sold in 2013. In 2014 the segment sales remained flat with over 30,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold, with the plug-in market share achieving a record market share of 1.06% of new car sales (kei cars not included). Accounting for kei cars, the plug-in segment market share falls to 0.7%. During 2014, cumulative plug-in sales in the Japanese market passed the 100,000 unit mark. However, as a result of the slow growth from 2013, Japan was surpassed in 2014 by China, with over 50,000 units sold, as the second largest world market that year. Sales totaled 24,660 units in 2015 and 24,851 units in 2016. The segment market share declined from 0.68% in 2014 to 0.59% in 2016. As a result of the slow down in sales that occurred after 2013, annual sales fell behind Europe, the U.S. and China during 2014 and 2015.
The first electric car available in the Japanese market was the Mitsubishi i MiEV, launched for fleet customers in Japan in late July 2009. Retail sales to the public began in April 2010. Cumulative sales since July 2009 reached 11,144 i-MiEVs through April 2016. Sales of the Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV electric van began in December 2011, and a total of 6,172 units have been sold through April 2016. Cumulative Outlander P-HEV sales in Japan totaled 9,608 units through December 2013. A truck version of the Minicab MiEV was launched in January 2013, with sales of 927 units through April 2016. Mitsubishi also launched in January 2013 a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander, called the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, becoming the first SUV plug-in hybrid in the world's market. The SUV has an all-electric range of . The Outlander P-HEV sold 9,608 units during 2013, ranking as the second top selling plug-in electric car in Japan after the Nissan Leaf. Excludes sales of Nissan NMC units (45), which is a low-speed neighborhood vehicle. , Mitsubishi Motors had sold 52,234 plug-in electric vehicles in Japan since July 2009.
The first prototype battery switch station from Better Place was demonstrated in Yokohama on May 14, 2009. In April 2010, a 90-day switchable-battery electric taxi demonstration project was launched in Tokyo, using three Nissan Rogue crossover utility vehicles, converted into electric cars with switchable batteries provided by A123 Systems. The battery switch station deployed in Tokyo is more advanced than the Yokohama switch system demonstrated in 2009. During the three-month field test the EV taxis accumulated over and swapped batteries 2,122 times, with an average battery swap time of 59.1 seconds. Nissan decided to continue the trial until late November 2010.
Sales of the Nissan Leaf began on December 22, 2010, when the first 10 Leaf were delivered at the Kanagawa Prefecture. The Prefecture Government decided to assign six Leafs for official use and the other four were made available for the car rental service run by the local government. Sales of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid began in January 2012, and a total of 19,100 units have been sold through September 2014. The Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid was introduced in Japan in June 2013 and it is available only for leasing, primarily to corporations and government agencies. , the Accord PHEV ranked as the third best selling plug-in hybrid in the Japanese market.
Sales of the plug-in electric drive segment during 2013 were led by the Nissan Leaf with 13,021 units sold, up from 11,115 in 2012, allowing the Leaf to continue as the top selling plug-in electric car in the country since 2011. Also during 2013, a total of 45 Nissan NMC all-electric low-speed neighborhood vehicles were sold in the country. Sales during the first nine months of 2014 again were led by the Nissan Leaf with 10,877 units, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 8,630 units, A total of 5,334 Minicab vans and 669 mini truck versions have been sold through September 2014. together representing 78.8% of the plug-in segment sales during this period.
Retail deliveries of the Tesla Model S began in Japan in September 2014. The Leaf continued as the market leader in 2014 for the fourth year running with 14,177 units sold, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 10,064 units, together representing about 80% of the plug-in segment sales in Japan in 2014..
In 2015 the Outlander plug-in hybrid surpassed the Leaf as the top selling plug-in electric car in the country that year with 10,996 units sold, while the Leaf sold 9,057 units. Japan is the Outlander P-HEV largest country market with 30,668 units sold through December 2015. A total of 30,668 Outlander P-HEVs have been sold in Japan through December 2015. Nevertheless, at the end of 2015 the Nissan Leaf continued to rank as the all-time best-selling plug-in car in the country with 57,699 units sold. , cumulative sales of plug-in electric cars totaled 126,420 units since 2009. See pp. 4-5, and 24-25 and Statistical annex, pp. 34-37.
During the first eight months of 2016 the Nissan Leaf led sales with 11,120 units delivered. Since December 2010, Nissan has sold 68,819 units through August 2016, making the Leaf the all-time best-selling plug-in car in the country. A total of 11,120 Leafs were sold in Japan during the first eight months of 2016. Between January and August 2016, a total of 4,162 Outlander P-HEVs were sold in Japan. Sales of the Outlander plug-in hybrid fell sharply from April 2016 as a result of Mitsubishi's fuel mileage scandal. Since its inception, sales of the plug-in hybrid totaled 34,830 units through August 2016. A total of 34,830 Outlander P-HEVs have been sold in Japan through August 2016.
Sales by model
The following table presents sales for the top selling highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles by year since July 2009 up to April 2016.
Top selling highway-capable plug-in electric vehiclesavailable in the Japanese market between 2009 and April 2016 Model(1) MarketlaunchTotalsales 2016CYTD 2015 2014 20132012201120102009Nissan Leaf Leaf sales in Japan totaled 9,057 units in 2015. A total of 2,503 units were sold in January 2016. , cumulative sales totaled 57,699 units since the Leaf introduction in December 2010. See graph for Leaf sales by year between 2009 and 2013. A total of 14,177 units were sold in Japan during 2014. A total of 7,279 Leafs were sold in Japan during the first four months of 2016. Dec 2010 64,978 7,279 9,057 14,177 13,021 11,115 10,310 19 Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV Jan 2013 33,991 3,323 10,996 10,064 9,608 Toyota Prius PHV , Prius PHV cumulative sales in Japan totaled 19,100 units and 65,300 units globally. Global sales of the Prius PHV totaled 75,400 units through April 2016, with 42,700 sold in North America, 22,100 in Japan, 10,500 in Europe, and about 100 units in the rest of the world. Details sales by year.Jan 2012 22,100 148 1,344 5,187 4,452 10,970 Mitsubishi i-MiEVJul 2009 11,144 86 635 1,021 1,491 2,2952,290 2,340 986 Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV van Dec 2011 6,172 111 501 865 1,461 2,487 747 Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV truck Jan 2013 927 35 161 177 554 BMW i32014+ 400 NA NA + 400(2) Total sales shown models Jul 2009 - Apr 2016 139,712 10,982 22,694 31,891 30,587 26,867 13,347 2,359 986Notes: (1) The Tesla Model S, Smart ED and Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid are also available in Japan, but sales figures are not available.(2) Sales only between April and August 2014.
Future trends
The rate of growth of the Japanese plug-in segment slowed from 2013, with annual sales falling behind Europe, the U.S. and China during 2014 and 2015. This trend reflects the Japanese government and the major domestic carmakers decision to adopt and promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead of plug-in electric vehicles. The Japanese strategy aims to focus in investing heavily in fuel-cell technology and infrastructure as part of a national policy to foster what it calls a hydrogen society, where the zero-emission fuel would power homes and vehicles.