Toyota Sold Just 18 EVs In Japan Last Month

- Toyota sales rose 6.2 percent to over 7.4 million vehicles this year so far.
- Global Toyota EV sales climbed 20.6 percent to 117,031 units year-to-date.
- Hybrids dominate Toyotaβs Japanese lineup with 603,676 units sold in 2025.
Sales momentum keeps building for Toyota, with last monthβs modest increase adding to what has already been a strong run through the first eight months of the year. At the current pace, Toyota looks set to surpass the 10.8 million vehicles it sold globally in 2024.
But a closer look at the companyβs latest report uncovers some striking details, or anomalies if you will, including the fact that only 18 battery-electric vehicles were sold in its home market of Japan during August.
Read: Toyota Finally Blinks As Europeβs EV Market Closes In
The good news for Toyota is that this year, the company has sold 7,409,273 vehicles across the Toyota, Daihatsu, Hino, and Lexus brands. This represents a 6.2 percent increase over last year. That said, August growth slowed to 900,598 units, down 1.3 percent year on year. More concerning was the drop at home, where Toyotaβs group sales in Japan fell 10.2 percent in August despite being up 17.8 percent across the year so far.
Excluding Daihatsu and Hino, Toyota and Lexus deliveries in Japan dropped 12.1 percent last month to 96,269 units. The slowdown has been linked to operational setbacks and delayed deliveries connected with issues in the Kamchatka Peninsula, alongside lingering fallout from a wide-ranging Prius recall last year.
Toyotaβs BEV Sales
The report also highlights how Toyota and Lexus are faring with electrified models. Globally, year-to-date EV sales climbed 20.6 percent to 117,031 units. Yet in Japan, the story is very different. Sales of battery-electric vehicles collapsed by 84.9 percent in August, amounting to only 18 units. Over the first eight months, the total was just 469 BEVs in Toyotaβs home market, down 71.1 percent.

This decline comes despite overall electrified vehicles in Japan rising 8.8 percent this year to 617,947 units. The vast majority of these are Toyotaβs traditional hybrid models, accounting for 603,676 sales. It has then sold 13,551 plug-in hybrids in Japan this year and 251 hydrogen fuel-cell models.
Growth Abroad
Outside Japan, Toyotaβs EV business is heading in the opposite direction. Global demand has strengthened, with 117,031 EVs sold this year, a solid 20.6 percent increase. August proved especially strong, with 17,056 units delivered, marking a 34.5 percent rise compared with the same month last year.
