The landscape of the 2025 Tokyo Motor Show has changed.
As one of the important indicators of the changing global automotive industry landscape, the biennial Japan Mobility Show 2025 (formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show) has always been an important stage for Japanese automakers to defend their home - court advantage and send strategic signals to the global capital market.
Image source: Official website of the Tokyo Motor Show
On October 29, the 2025 Tokyo Motor Show was held at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center. A reporter from National Business Daily visited the event on - site and found that this year's motor show included almost all the representative Japanese domestic brands such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, and Subaru. In contrast, there were only a few international brands, including Chinese brands. According to the reporter's incomplete statistics, the international brands participating in this Tokyo Motor Show were only BYD from China, Hyundai and Kia from South Korea, and BMW and Mercedes - Benz from Germany.
At this Tokyo Motor Show, BYD globally launched a new all - electric K - Car model, which attracted wide attention from Japanese automakers. Toshihiro Suzuki, the president of Suzuki, expressed his concerns externally. "There are many standards for small cars in the world. BYD has chosen the Japanese kei - car standard, and new competition is about to begin." Toshihiro Suzuki said that the threshold for the Japanese to buy Chinese products is decreasing.
Strengthening the K - Car Market, BYD's Localized Model Makes Global Debut
As the only Chinese complete - vehicle brand participating in the exhibition, BYD set up both passenger - car and commercial - vehicle exhibition stands with the core theme of "ONE BYD" at this Tokyo Motor Show. "This not only marks that BYD will build a new - energy product matrix of hybrid and all - electric vehicles in Japan, but also further expand the complete ecosystem of parallel development of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, helping to comprehensively enhance the brand and product influence in Japan." BYD said.
A relevant BYD staff member introduced in an interview with the reporter that this is BYD's second time participating in the Tokyo Motor Show. The first time was in the second year (2023) after BYD's passenger cars entered the Japanese market, and BYD's commercial vehicles did not participate in the exhibition that year. In July 2022, BYD announced in Tokyo that it would strengthen its presence in the Japanese passenger - car market. So far, it has launched several best - selling all - electric models such as Yuan PLUS, Dolphin, Seal, and Sea Lion 07.
Photo taken by Li Xing, reporter of National Business Daily
At this Tokyo Motor Show, BYD globally launched a new all - electric K - Car model, BYD RACCO, specially tailored for the Japanese market, and simultaneously launched a dual - line strategy of "all - electric + hybrid". Moreover, BYD also announced the official introduction of its first plug - in hybrid model, Sea Lion 06DM - i, in the Japanese market to expand its model layout in Japan. "The company plans to have a layout of 7 to 8 all - electric and hybrid models in Japan by 2027." BYD said. Currently, BYD has established 66 sales outlets in Japan, and its distribution network is steadily expanding.
In addition to BYD, a Chinese intelligent - driving company, QCraft, also participated in this Tokyo Motor Show. Yu Qian, the co - founder and CEO of QCraft, introduced to the reporter that this is QCraft's first time participating in the Tokyo Motor Show. It launched its first mature L4 - level product, Robobus (driverless bus), and a full - stack autonomous - driving solution for the Japanese market. "This participation in the exhibition marks that QCraft has officially started the commercialization process in the Japanese market, becoming a key milestone in its globalization strategy." Yu Qian said.
Hyundai and Kia from South Korea, and Mercedes - Benz from Germany are in the same exhibition hall as BYD, located on both sides of BYD's booth respectively.
Image source: Provided by the company
The BMW Group is located in Hall West 1 with Nissan and Mitsubishi. At this Tokyo Motor Show, MINI jointly with British designer Paul Smith globally launched the MINI PAUL SMITH designer - edition model. Based on the electric MINI COOPER, MINI COOPER three - door, five - door, and MINI COOPER CABRIO convertible models, this new car incorporates Paul Smith's world - renowned design philosophy of "Classic with a twist" and will be launched in the global market one after another.
The Answer from Japanese Automakers: Electrification Has Not Taken the Lead
Compared with the two major A - class auto shows in Beijing and Shanghai with unique Chinese characteristics, the Tokyo Motor Show allows the outside world to more clearly see the development ideas of Japanese automakers for their domestic and global markets. Especially in terms of electrification and intelligent technologies, the path choices and product logics presented at the Tokyo Motor Show are completely different from those in the Chinese market.
If one word is used to describe Toyota at this Tokyo Motor Show, it can be summarized as "sci - fi retro". From the two - door coupe Century, to the LS six - wheel concept car with two seats in the front and four in the rear, and the concept car of the next - generation volume - selling model Corolla, all adopt a high - concept and strong - design approach, being bold, cutting - edge, and even breaking traditions. And Daihatsu's Midget X demonstrates the design possibilities of mini - cars, pushing the Toyota - like feeling to another extreme.
Photo taken by Li Xing, reporter of National Business Daily
While Chinese brands focus on "large and comprehensive" mid - to - high - end models, Japanese electric vehicles precisely target the "small and refined" niche market. Honda's newly released electric concept car, Super EV Concept, focuses on being "compact" and "flexible". Honda said that this car is developed based on the concept of pursuing a "Fun style", taking into account both convenience and Honda's unique "driving pleasure".
Nissan centrally launched three new cars at this Tokyo Motor Show, including a facelifted Ariya electric SUV, a new luxury Elgrand MPV, and a China - exclusive N7 all - electric sedan. The global debut and the first appearance of overseas models in Japan were presented. It is reported that the core purpose of Nissan's display of the N7 this time is to "test the acceptance of Japanese consumers towards Nissan models made in China".
In addition to the N7, the other two new products released by Nissan are regular updates. Among them, the new Elgrand MPV focuses on electrification and comfort, using the latest generation of e - Power hybrid technology, and the vehicle is driven by an electric motor throughout the journey. The main selling point of the facelifted Ariya is that its in - vehicle system will be connected to Google services for the first time to improve the level of intelligence.
Mazda globally launched two models, the Vision Model concept car and the new - generation Mazda CX - 5 (European version). According to official Mazda information, the Vision Model concept car is equipped with a vehicle - mounted carbon - dioxide adsorption system independently developed by Mazda for the first time, which can filter carbon particles in the air during driving, and its annual adsorption capacity is equivalent to that of 1.5 adult trees.
The CX - 5 is not only Mazda's best - selling model globally but also has a long - standing presence in the Chinese market. For Mazda, the full - model change of the CX - 5 is very important for its development in any market. At this Tokyo Motor Show, the new - generation CX - 5 made its global debut. In terms of the power system, the new - generation CX - 5 gasoline version is equipped with a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine, and a SKYACTIV - Z hybrid system is planned to be launched in 2027.
The debut of the Vision Model concept car is not just a simple design study but a key signal of Mazda's transformation towards electrification. Public information shows that the technological elements of the Vision Model concept car may be first applied to the all - electric versions of the CX - 70/CX - 90 to be mass - produced in 2027, or it may become a technological verification platform for the next - generation MX - 5.
Although Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mazda all regard electrification as one of their core narratives, from the central position of their booths and the resource allocation, electrification has not yet become the real strategic center.
In the eyes of the outside world, the Tokyo Motor Show is evolving from an industry event into a "pressure - test field" for judging the global strategies of Japanese automakers. The technological routes presented on the booths show the long - term visions of Japanese automakers. However, what is more worthy of attention than the visions is the "strategic fragmentation" of Japanese car brands in the Chinese and domestic markets.
This article is from the WeChat official account "NBD Auto". The author is Li Xing. Republished by 36Kr with permission.