Tesla recorded its strongest year ever in Japan in 2025, nearly doubling vehicle deliveries after expanding its retail footprint and revamping how it sells and supports customers in the country.
According to data from the Japan Automobile Importers Association, Tesla sold about 10,600 vehicles in Japan last year, up roughly 90% from 2024 and well above its previous peak of around 5,900 units in 2022.
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The performance contrasts sharply with Tesla’s global results. Worldwide deliveries fell 9% to 1.63 million vehicles in 2025, while sales in Canada dropped by more than 60%, making Japan a rare bright spot for the automaker.
The turnaround followed a strategic shift under country manager Richi Hashimoto, who took the role in late 2024. “With low brand awareness, few people would set out to come to a Tesla dealership,” Hashimoto told Nikkei. “We first had to introduce people to Tesla.”
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Tesla moved away from stand-alone roadside stores and opened 16 permanent showrooms inside major shopping centres in 2025, pairing compact mall locations with nearby test-drive vehicles. By year-end, the company operated 29 locations nationwide, including first entries into Okinawa and Hokkaido.
The company also retrained its sales staff and accelerated onboarding. Hashimoto said Tesla “merely started doing what’s considered normal” in the auto industry, a change that helped lift productivity. Tesla averaged about 366 vehicle sales per store last year, compared with 250.5 for Mercedes-Benz and 210.2 for BMW, industry data show.
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Tesla is also expanding its Supercharger network to more than 1,000 charging points in Japan by 2027 and expects to introduce its Full Self-Driving system to the market as early as this year. From January 2026, buyers can finance a Model 3 or Model Y at 0% interest for up to five years, a move the company says will further boost demand alongside Japan’s clean-energy vehicle subsidies.
