Used passenger car sales number in Japan 2012-2021

In 2021, sales of used passenger cars amounted to approximately 5.63 million in Japan, down from around 5.74 million unit sales in the previous year. According to the source, passenger cars dominated used vehicle sales by far, with mini cars (kei cars) being particularly prevalent.

Registrations are only an indicator of sales

The source determined the number of used vehicles sold per year by summing up re-registrations, transfer, and alteration registrations. Although the resulting number includes sales to end-users, it also contains many other cases. For example, a vehicle owner might only deregister an unneeded automobile temporarily to re-register it later on again. Or an owner gives the vehicle to a family member as a present (transfer). Or the owner changes the name registered due to marriage (alteration). Unlike for new passenger cars, there is no way of knowing whether the change in registration followed a deal. In short, the actual figure is probably lower.

What are consumer preferences in Japan?

As Japan has a high ratio of motor vehicles to citizens and one of the largest automotive industries worldwide, consumer surveys about vehicles are frequent. Despite the lacking knowledge of the exact market size for used passenger cars, there exists accordingly a good grasp of the typical consumer: the consumer tends to be male and in his 20s or 30s; more than 50 percent of buyers strike bargains below 1.5 million Japanese yen; people primarily get their used cars for the everyday commute to work or school and driving shopping. The most demanded vehicle type is - as supported by used car registrations - the kei car.