Updated 26 August 2026. Japan sold 417,163 vehicles in July 2026, up 6.8%, of which 140,494 were kei minivehicles on the official Zenkeijikyo count, up 1.6% year on year. Suzuki took 33.1% of the kei month, Daihatsu 28.9% and Honda 19.7%.
Roughly 38% of all new passenger cars sold in Japan in 2025 were "Kei" mini-vehicles. The single best-selling vehicle in Japan, the Honda N-Box, is a Kei. A foreign visitor to Tokyo will see Keis everywhere; a Japanese auto buyer takes them for granted; a US or European reader probably has no idea they exist at scale.
What Defines a Kei
Maximum engine displacement: 660cc. Maximum power: 64 PS (47 kW). Maximum length: 3.4m. Maximum width: 1.48m. Maximum height: 2.0m. The category was originally established post-WWII to enable affordable mobility under post-war material constraints. Annual road tax and insurance are significantly cheaper for Kei vehicles than for "regular" passenger cars.
The Top 5 Kei Cars in 2025
- Honda N-Box, ~201,000 units (Nippon.com 2025)
- Suzuki Spacia, ~165,000
- Daihatsu Tanto, ~130,000
- Suzuki Wagon R, ~90,000
- Suzuki Hustler, ~80,000
Kei BEVs are Coming
The Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi eK X EV (jointly developed) launched in 2022 and crossed 40k combined sales in 2025. They are now the most-sold BEVs in Japan by units. The compact battery + low price point fits the Kei use case (urban short trips, second car) extremely well.
See Kei vs registered passenger car split year-by-year on the Japan dashboard.