- Tesla’s sales in Japan nearly doubled last year.
- The automaker substantially grew its number of showrooms and invested heavily in staff training to make that happen.
- The Japanese EV market is still nascent and has plenty of room to grow.
Tesla’s global deliveries fell sharply last year across several major markets, including the U.S. and China, which together account for the bulk of its sales. Yet the automaker nearly doubled its sales in Japan and the way it pulled that off offers a useful lesson for automakers struggling to sell EVs.
Japan is still a very small EV market compared to the U.S., China, or even Europe. Of the roughly 3.8 million vehicles sold in Japan last year, only about 60,677 were battery powered, according to multiple local news reports. Even so, Tesla delivered a record 10,600 vehicles in the country, nearly doubling its 2024 sales.
Tesla grew its sales in Japan by being smart and sticking to the basics of retail sales strategy. The company began leaning less on online-only orders and more on in-person experiences that look a lot like a traditional dealership model, Nikkei reported Friday.
Photo by: Tesla
The automaker doesn’t operate franchised dealerships because it sells directly to customers. Still, it does rely on company-owned physical showrooms that replicate a dealership experience, minus the markups and haggling.
Things changed for the better in September 2024, Nikkei reports, when Tesla hired Richi Hashimoto, Red Bull’s former head of marketing, as its country manager for Japan. Under Hashimoto, Tesla opened 16 permanent showrooms in Japan last year, all located inside high-traffic shopping malls, with test drives in the parking lots.
That alone wasn’t enough. Tesla also invested heavily in staff training and education. Japan remains far behind in the EV race, which means most consumers are still likely unfamiliar with EV terminology. In many ways, it’s like learning a new language, which takes time and effort.
“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,” he added. At the time, just 10% of Tesla’s sales staff in Japan met his standard for EV knowledge, even though they were responsible for selling the cars.
This problem isn’t unique to Japan. In the U.S., traditional car dealers are often lukewarm toward EVs because they disrupt the economics that make them profitable in the first place. EVs require far less maintenance—no oil changes and fewer moving parts—meaning losing key after-sales revenue.
They also demand more upfront staff training and carry higher sticker prices than comparable gas cars, making them harder to move off the lot. And yet, they’re objectively better for the consumers, with more refinement, thousands of dollars in cost savings over time and far more advanced software and technology.
With over two dozen EVs set to launch in the U.S. in 2026, both automakers and dealerships would be better off investing in training their sales staff and boosting the exposure of their models in smart ways. If they don’t adapt, they risk being left behind. The market will continue to evolve regardless.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
It’s also worth mentioning that Tesla’s global sales decline has little to do with retail execution alone. The company is grappling with an aging vehicle lineup, a pivot toward AI and robotics, and, in some markets, consumer backlash tied to CEO Elon Musk’s politics.
In larger and more mature EV markets, Tesla is also facing far more intense competition than it once did. Japan, by contrast, remains a nascent EV market, where choice is limited and the novelty factor around Tesla likely hasn’t worn off yet.
Other countries where Tesla sales grew in 2025 include Norway, where nearly one in five EVs sold last year was a Tesla, totaling 34,285 units for the year. And the automaker reportedly sold 31,549 Model Ys in Turkey, adding meaningful volume to its global tally.
Contact the author: [email protected]
