The line that carries Tesla in Japan's official import statistics nearly doubled in October 2026. In the Japan Automobile Importers Association's preliminary release, dated 6 November, the "Others" line reached 2,163 passenger cars, against 1,125 a year earlier, up 92.3%. Only Mercedes-Benz and BMW registered more foreign-brand cars.
Tesla publishes no Japanese sales figures and is not a JAIA member, so its cars are counted under "Others" with a handful of small brands. Touch Lab, which has tracked the line since 2014, treats it as a Tesla proxy, as did our September report.
A record first month of a quarter
Tesla's Japanese registrations swell in the last month of each quarter and fall back in the next. October followed that pattern, down from 3,348 in September. By Touch Lab's count, it was still the strongest first month of a quarter in the series, above July 2026's 1,990, and the strongest October. In October, November and December 2025 together, the line totalled 2,603 cars; this October alone reached more than 80% of that.
| Foreign brand, passenger cars | October 2026 | Change on year | January to October |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz | 3,624 | +8.6% | 39,887 |
| BMW | 2,461 | +3.0% | 24,421 |
| Others (incl. Tesla) | 2,163 | +92.3% | 22,379 |
| Volkswagen | 1,928 | −8.2% | 22,721 |
| Audi | 1,580 | −14.3% | 17,492 |
| Mini | 1,465 | −2.2% | 14,579 |
| BYD | 175 | −44.8% | 3,438 |
Source: JAIA, preliminary new registrations of foreign-brand passenger cars, October 2026.
The whole foreign-brand passenger market grew by 88 cars, to 17,613. The Others line grew by 1,038, so without it foreign brands would have registered 950 fewer cars than in October 2025, a fall of 5.8%. BYD, Tesla's main Chinese rival in Japan, fell 44.8% to 175.
Closing in on Volkswagen
Over ten months the Others line stands at 22,379 cars, up 143.5% and more than double the 10,643 it recorded in the whole of 2025. It is fourth for the year, 342 cars behind Volkswagen; after September the gap was 577. Touch Lab notes that March, June and September, the quarter-end months, each topped 2,500 cars, and expects the line to pass Volkswagen for the year.
What it means
Japan is a small market for Tesla next to Europe, but it is one of the few where its growth this year is steep: the Others line has more than doubled while the foreign-brand passenger market shrank 2.1% over ten months. The caveat stands. "Others" is not a Tesla figure, and Tesla Japan's own monthly claims, such as the Model Y being the best-selling foreign model, rest on its own count.