Japan’s top automakers just wrapped the first half of 2025, and on the surface, the numbers look solid.
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, and Mitsubishi all posted year-over-year gains in sales or production across key markets.
But volume doesn’t tell the full story.
Margins are under pressure. EV growth is uneven. And every OEM, while staring down the same headwinds (tariffs, currency swings, production pivots), is betting on a different playbook for the back half of the year.
Take Toyota: The automaker grew global sales by 7.4% in the first half, with production up 8.8%.
That included a nearly 20% surge in Japanese output, driven in part by U.S. buyers locking in purchases before the 25% import tariff announced earlier this year.
In June alone, Toyota’s global sales were up just 2.7%.
And while hybrids are still pulling their weight, Toyota’s battery EV numbers were modest—around 82,000 units sold in the first half, most of them outside Japan.
Nissan, meanwhile, is leaning into cost cuts to slow the bleeding.
The brand sold 707,000 units in Q1 FY25 (Nissan’s fiscal Q1 runs April through June) and pulled in 2.7 trillion yen ($18.5B)—but still posted a net loss of 115.8 billion yen ($800M).
It’s a smaller loss than the 200 billion yen (~$1.3B) it had projected, thanks to early traction from its Re:Nissan transformation plan.
According to the company’s Q1 earnings release, it’s already cut 30 billion yen ($207M) in fixed costs, lined up over 1,600 cost-saving initiatives, and started consolidating five global production sites.
It’s a start, but not a turnaround, because Nissan still expects a 100 billion yen ($690M) operating loss in its second quarter.
For Honda: In June, production in Japan rose 8.5% YoY, while total global output dipped slightly—down 0.6%—as overseas builds continued to slide.
At the same time, exports from Japan surged 90.7%, with shipments to the U.S. up more than 375%, reflecting solid demand out of North America.
But on the home front, softness continued.
Japan sales fell 16.9%, new registrations dropped 22.7%, and mini-vehicle sales slid 8.4%, marking the third straight monthly decline across all three categories.
At Mazda: Global sales in June were down 5.3%, and exports dropped 10.5% in the first half.
But local momentum is holding.
Japan sales rose 22% in June, and the CX-30 is gaining traction globally. Still, production in the first half of this year was down 3.1% compared to 2024.
June looked strong for Mitsubishi: Production doubled, domestic sales jumped 147.1%, and Southeast Asia did most of the heavy lifting.
The flip side, though, is that first-half production was flat, and overseas output has now declined three years in a row.
To recap:
Toyota has scale, but it needs to ramp EV volume and protect hybrid margins as tariffs and pricing pressure build.
Nissan is banking on lean ops and consolidation, but another loss in Q2 means execution matters more than what they say.
Honda has export strength, but soft domestic demand could throw off mix and allocation strategy.
Mazda needs to turn CX-30 traction into broader global wins, or risk stalling outside Japan.
Mitsubishi has Southeast Asia momentum, but reversing a three-year slide in overseas
Bottom line: Japanese OEMs saw patchy gains in sales and production in H1, but margin pressure, EV lag, and tariff-driven cost shifts are already testing their footing. That just means the second half will hinge on execution—scaling EVs, protecting margins, and navigating regional shifts.
A quick word from our partner
Here’s a question –
How much would your business change if you had one more employee who works 24/7, answering questions, driving sales conversations, and setting up test drives–even when your dealership is closed?
Most AI solutions only act as a copilot–and a human still has to approve and use the content they create.
But now with Podium’s AI BDC – AI can take over tasks to respond instantly to every incoming lead without direct supervision.
The best part?
With a seamless handoff to staff on the sales floor, customers will never know they were interacting with an AI to begin with.
Click here to try Podium's AI BDC today.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
No-BS insights, built for car dealers. Free, fast, and trusted by 55,000+ car dealers.
