Japanese cars enjoy a long and successful history in Australia. The Datsun Phaeton was the first Japanese model imported into the country, way back in 1934, and now there are more cars from Japan in Australia than any other country.
Since then, a number of other Japanese car manufacturers have made their way to Australia. As of 2026, there are nine Japanese brands available here.
Read more: Which Asian car brands are in Australia?
Honda
Honda is one of the longest-standing Japanese brands in Australia with the first imports seen in the 1950s. Today, there are five models available:
- Family car: Accord
- Small car: Civic
- SUV range: CR-V, HR-V, ZR-V
Later in 2026, we’re expecting to see two new Honda models in Australia: Super-ONE (an urban EV) and Prelude (compact sportscar).
Read more: See why the Civic is rated as one of the best cars in Australia
Isuzu
A more recent introduction, Isuzu Ute Australia was founded in 2008. Fast forward to January 2026 and it currently has two models available in Australia, but both hugely popular: the D-Max ute and the MU-X 7-seater.
Isuzu was the ninth most sold brand in Australia in 2025 and the D-Max was the fifth best-selling vehicle in the country (and the third most popular ute) while the MU-X was the third best-selling SUV.
Lexus
Part of the Toyota family – more on them later – Lexus was established to develop luxury cars. There are currently ten models available, each with a two-letter acronym. To better understand what you’re buying, here’s what those initials mean:
- ES: Executive Sedan
- GX: Grand
- LC: Luxury Coupe
- LM: Luxury Mover
- LS: Luxury Sedan
- LX: Luxury Crossover
- NX: Nimble Crossover
- RX: Radiant Crossover
- RZ: Radiant Zero
- UX: Urban Crossover
Things have changed recently with the addition of LBX – a compact SUV – bucking the trend of two-letter names.
Mazda
Like many Japanese companies, Mazda has pivoted from its original industry manufacturing cork substitutes. Their first car was built in 1960 and they’ve since gone from strength to strength.
Mazda currently has 18 models available in Australia, including seven in the CX range.
In 2025, Mazda moved back up to second most popular brand in Australia, overtaking Ford to sit behind Toyota. Driving that success was the CX-5 which was the seventh most popular new car, and second most popular SUV, last year.
Mitsubishi
Dating back to 1870, Mitsubishi is a brand known across the world. They established as a business in Australia in 1980 and, as of early 2026, there are seven Mitsubishi models available here:
- ASX (compact SUV)
- Eclipse Cross (compact SUV)
- Pajero Sport 9large SUV)
- Outlander (medium SUV)
- Outlander plug-in hybrid (medium SUV)
- Triton GLX (ute)
- Triton GSR (ute)
Mitsubishi had the sixth most sales in Australia in 2025. Its top-selling model was the Outlander which was the eighth most popular car in the country last year.
Nissan
Selling cars in Japan since 1933, Nissan was sold overseas (including in Australia) as Datsun. That name was discontinued and replaced by Nissan in all markets.
Nissan recorded the ninth most sales for all car manufacturers in Australia in 2024 but moved outside the top ten (with other big names like Subaru and VW) as more Chinese cars joined the top ten. As of 2026, there are eight Nissan models available in Australia:
- Ariya
- Juke
- Navara
- Pathfinder
- Patrol
- Qashqai
- X-Trail
- Z
Two new generations of popular models – the X-Trail and Navara – will be available in Australia in 2026.
Subaru
Named after a star cluster in the Taurus constellation – hence the stars in their logo – Subaru built their first car in 1954 after transitioning from aircraft research.
Like Nissan, Subaru dropped out of the top ten most popular brands in 2026. If you’re looking to buy one, you have plenty of choice with seven models available:
- BRZ
- Crosstrek
- Forester
- Impreza
- Outback
- Solterra
- WRX
There’s also a WRX Sportswagon variant and a brand new Outback generation available this year. Last year, the Outback was the fifth best-selling large SUV in the country.
Suzuki
Similar to Mazda, Suzuki has its roots in an unexpected industry: weaving looms. They moved into auto production in the 1930s and haven’t looked back since.
Suzuki has seven models available in its Australian showrooms:
- Fronx Hybrid
- Ignis
- Jimny
- S-Cross
- Swift Hybrid
- Swift Sport
- Vitara
A new version of the Jimny is coming to Australia later in 2026.
Toyota
Last but by no means least is Toyota. It’s one of the biggest car brands in the world, with huge success in Australia. There are 21 models currently available here, with many topping the sales charts.
It’s easy to claim that Toyota is Australia’s favourite car brand: in 2025, it recorded 23 consecutive years as the best selling brand in the country, selling more than double second-placed Mazda.
In terms of individual models, the HiLux, RAV4 and LandCruiser Prado were the second, third and fourth biggest sellers last year. Toyotas also took the top three spots for hybrid sales, the RAV4 was the best-selling medium SUV, the LandCruiser Prado the best large SUV, the Corolla was the best-selling small car of the year and the HiLux the second most popular ute.
The future of Japanese cars in Australia
Japanese cars have established themselves well in Australia and they’ve built a reputation for being reliable and affordable. Toyota, in particular, has captured the nation’s heart and remains a bestseller, likely to claim the number one spot again in Australia for 2026.
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