Automakers are achieving rapid progress in responding to environmental and safety concerns. Fuel-cell cars and hybrid cars are representative of this trend. Restrictions on diesel vehicles to curb the emission of harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, as well as the so-called "green tax" aimed at promoting low-emission vehicles, have contributed to increasing the ratio of such models to two out of every three cars newly registered in Japan.

Meanwhile, dealers across Japan sold 277,000 imported cars in 2002. The figure remained at roughly the same level as in the previous year. Imported cars showed the same sales patterns as their counterparts manufactured in Japan. Sales of mid-sized to large cars slumped, while sales of small cars continued to increase.