Japan EV sales just 2% of domestic market, trailing China and Europe

Nissan's Sakura minicar surges to top with affordable price

20230406N Nissan Sakura

Nissan Motor leads its Japanese peers in EV sales in Japan with its Sakura electric minicar. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- Japan's electric-vehicle sales are expanding rapidly, led by more affordable kei minicars. But EVs still accounted for just 2.1% of new passenger car sales here in fiscal 2022, compared with nearly 20% in China and Europe.

Electric passenger car sales in Japan reached a record 77,238 units in the year ended March, 3.1 times the year-earlier tally, according to data released Thursday by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association.

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