BEVs represent only 2% of the Japanese market in 2023
- Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEV) are still failing to take off in Japan, with only 2% market share recorded for this type of vehicle in 2023, which is the lowest proportion of the largest global markets. This proportion has doubled in two years but remains particularly low. Several factors explain this weakness in BEV sales in Japan:
1. Firstly, full-hybrid models have been an important component of car sales in Japan since the launch of the first Toyota Prius in 1997. These models represent 32% of the Japanese market in 2023, compared to 26% in 2022 and 24% in 2021.
2. Secondly, Toyota, which occupies half of the Japanese market, has bet everything on full-hybrid and offers very few battery electric vehicles. No serious proposal either from the other Japanese carmakers.
3. Thirdly, the share of foreign imports being stable at 6% of the Japanese market for decades, there is very little possibility for a foreign brand (as Tesla for instance) to market a battery electric car at a competitive price compared to a full-hybrid model and in large numbers. Remember that 1% of the Japanese market corresponds to 40,000 cars, which no battery electric foreign model can reasonably achieve.
- The future development of BEV sales in Japan will depend on the development of the offering from Japanese carmakers. Note that plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are even less successful than BEVs, accounting for only 1% of the Japanese market in 2023, a stable share since 2021.