What’s The Best Selling Car Models of All-Time for Japanese Car Makers?

We love our cars here in Malaysia, we like them quite a lot in fact, and for this list, we’re counting down the best selling car models of all-time according to their makers.

Subaru Legacy (1998) — 5 million sold

Popular for its sporty Impreza models, it’s a surprise to us that the more mature Legacy holds the top spot for Subaru over the last 30 years. Of course, this saloon and estate range had its moment on the forest stages, famously with Colin McRae at the wheel.

Mitsubishi Lancer (1973 – 2023) — 7.3 million sold

While those Evo models garner the headlines, it’s the mainstream Lancer models that make up the huge majority of its 7.3 million and counting sales.

Usually sold in sedan form, there have been hatches and estates, and production in China only stopped recently.

Suzuki Wagon R, 1993 – present — 7.5 million sold

The Suzuki Wagon R has been a regular winner of Japan’s best-selling car during its lifetime and it notched up 3 million sales by 2008. Much of this success is because it meets its home country’s strict ‘kei’ car rules for size. This never sold in Malaysia but never stopped it from soaring sales heights.

Mazda Familia, 1963 – 2003 — 10 million sold

While their SUVs have received a lot of attention and the MX-5 has long been a dream for boy racers everywhere, it’s the staid Familia that takes the top sales spot.

Honda Civic, 1972 – present — 28 million sold (and counting)

This car is a rite of passage for many in Malaysia. Just enough of an upgrade and just out of reach for many of us earning a salary. It’s an aspirational car that raised your expectations of what a car is capable of and packs a punch in terms of performance as well as fuel consumption. It’s been iterated on forever and has evolved many times over across state lines and generations.

Toyota Corolla, 1966 – present — 51 million sold (and counting)

By a very large margin, the Toyota Corolla is the world’s biggest selling car, a position it achieved after just eight years in production to unseat the Volkswagen Beetle. Like the Honda Civic, it’s the perfect all-rounder that has stood the test of time. While I’ve never been partial to the stylings of Toyota (I find them boring), the world certainly thinks otherwise and this C-segment sedan has served the world over 51 million times.

There you have it, the best selling car models from Japan of all time. Did you expect this? Or was it too obvious? All we know is, there’s not a single SUV on the list… yet.