Jeep’s compact EV debuts in Japan as imported EVs take the lead

Stellantis debuted its fully electric compact utility car in Japan as it looks to edge into a fledgling market where foreign imports are slowly gaining on pure battery vehicles from domestic brands.
The Jeep Avenger will start from ¥5.8 million ($40,000), Stellantis said at a media event in Tokyo Thursday. The car will be also eligible for ¥650,000 in government subsidies.
In Japan, gasoline and hybrid gas-electric cars remain the dominant powertrains of choice for local consumers. It’s taking some time for EVs, both from domestic and overseas automakers, to build a base.
Even so, sales of imported EVs overtook those made domestically in 2023, according to data from the Automobile Inspection & Registration Information Association. Such units totaled 22,800 last year, while those from manufacturers like Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and Honda Motor were around 21,000.
Toyota had previously pledged to sell 1.5 million battery electric vehicles annually by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030.
But as global automakers scale back their EV goals due to a downturn in new car sales and a rebound in the popularity of hybrids, the Japanese carmaker followed suit, lowering its EV sales outlook for 2026 to 1 million, the Nikkei reported earlier this month.
Chinese behemoth BYD is also making some headway in Japan, but at a slow pace. Its flagship sedan, the Seal, was the country’s best-selling imported EV in August, retailing for ¥5.28 million. BYD sold 196 units in August in Japan.