Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars are a hot topic. Social media is packed with videos of people using kei trucks as daily drivers, converting four-wheel-drive minivans for camping and van life, and showing off JDM tuner cars that impress at cars and coffee.
What is a JDM car? It’s any car that was originally sold new in Japan. Older JDM cars are often imported to other markets, including Canada, once their age allows them to become exempt from safety and emissions testing under classic car exemptions. In Canada, we have a huge advantage over our American neighbours, as cars qualify for import exemptions here once they’re 15 years old rather than the 25-year limit south of the border.
JDM cars have a reputation for having low mileage, being extremely clean, and costing less up front than North American cars. They tend to have high-quality builds, great performance, and unique styling. Some car enthusiasts even import Japanese cars to convert them for competitive drifting.
To import a JDM vehicle, you’ll need to be willing to invest a bit of work, money, and time, although there are importers around who can help with the process. It’s also important to know that getting insurance for a right-hand drive car can be a challenge in Canada. But if you’re shopping for a used vehicle, don’t mind buying something on the older side, and are bored with what you’re finding on the market in Canada, you may find it’s worth importing a JDM car.
JDM Cars in Canada
- How to Get a JDM Car into Canada
- Best JDM Cars to Consider in Canada in 2026
- Honda Civic Type R
- Honda S2000
- Lexus LS
- Mazda MX-5
- Mitsubishi Delica
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
- Nissan Skyline
- Subaru Impreza WRX STI
- Suzuki Jimny
- Toyota Hiace
- Honourable mention: check out the kei trucks
How to Get a JDM Car into Canada
There are three ways to get a JDM car into Canada:
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Source, purchase, and export/import the car yourself. This involves a lot of paperwork, legwork, and potential expense.
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Work with a professional importer. This is a popular option, since they’re already familiar with the process and aren’t hindered by language barriers. There are JDM importers in most major cities across Canada.
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Find a car through a private seller who has already completed the import procedures and made the car legal to drive in Canada.
JDM cars qualify for import exemptions in Canada once they’re 15 years from their date of manufacture. Cars of this vintage don’t need to pass regulatory, safety, or emissions testing to enter the country, which makes the import process significantly easier.
Before you start shopping around for your dream JDM car, there are a couple of factors to consider:
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JDM cars are right-hand drive (RHD), meaning the driver sits on the right side of the vehicle. This reduces visibility in left-hand drive (LHD) countries such as Canada, and takes some getting used to. Insurance for RHD vehicles can be hard to find, so do some research on this before you commit.
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Replacement parts for JDM cars are often expensive and difficult to source in Canada, so be prepared for higher maintenance costs than with domestic cars.
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Most Japanese imports arrive at the port of Vancouver. If you live elsewhere, you’ll need to factor transportation costs to other Canadian cities such as Calgary, Toronto, or Montreal into the budget. If you work with an importer, they’ll arrange this for you and you’ll only need to deal with the expense.
Best JDM Cars to Consider in Canada in 2026
If you’re convinced a JDM car is right for you, here are some of the best cars to consider importing to Canada from Japan in 2026. Thanks to our 15-year import exemption rules, Canadians can now import JDM cars with model years as recent as 2011. Our choices range from the blatantly obvious to under-the-radar finds. We’ve stuck with Japanese brands here, but don’t be afraid to cast the net further: there are some great finds among importable JDM cars from out-of-market brands such as BMW, Audi, Porsche, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and others.
Honda Civic Type R
Until the Honda Civic Type R landed in North America for the first time in 2017, it was one of this continent’s most forbidden automotive fruits. The final model year for the FD2 Civic Type R was 2011, which is the latest model year that qualifies for import exemptions into Canada in 2026. FD2 Type Rs were the last models not subject to Euro 5 emissions rules, so they’re considered desirable for their high-revving naturally aspirated engines.
This front-wheel-drive (FWD) sedan produces 222 horsepower and 159 pound-feet of torque from its 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine (have fun wrapping your head around using the manual transmission with your left hand). Unfortunately, enthusiasts have caught onto this car, and import prices are now at $50,000 or more. But if you want to own something unique, rare, and fun, this is it.
If you really score, you might be able to find a Honda Civic Mugen RR fitted with a body kit that includes an aluminum hood and a carbon fibre wing and bumpers. Just 300 of these were produced exclusively for the Japanese market, all painted in Milano Red. They don’t yet qualify for classic car import into the United States, so keep your eyes out for one while there’s less competition.
Honda S2000
Suggesting a Honda S2000 as an import purchase is hardly ground-breaking, but these enthusiast favourites are notoriously difficult to find for a decent price on the used market in Canada. A JDM import might be the solution.
See if you can find an F22C1, which was released for the 2006 model year and comes with power figures of 239 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque to go with the standard manual transmission and rear-wheel drive (RWD). This or any S2000 won’t be a budget proposition, though: they routinely run between $55,000 and $115,000 when imported from Japan to Canada. That’s certainly not into Honda NSX territory, which starts at around $400,000, but it’s hardly pocket change.
If you want a Honda roadster that’s a little more unusual, take a look at the Honda Beat. It’s a rear mid-engine convertible kei car that’s sure to attract second glances, and you can usually land an older one for $10,000 or less.
Lexus LS
Looking to roll in the ultimate Japanese luxury? No one will guess how little you paid for a Lexus LS imported straight from the source. Four generations of this flagship sedan currently qualify for import into Canada, including the LS 600h hybrid, which was first sold in Japan for the 2007 model year. This comes with a 5.0-litre V8 paired with hybrid drive to produce a total system output of 439 horsepower and sends power to both axles through all-wheel drive (AWD).
According to some importer websites, you might be able to score one of these for $8,000 to $12,000. Considering how indestructible they are, that seems like even more of a bargain.
Mazda MX-5
Plenty of used MX-5s can be found all across Canada, so why import one from Japan? Currently, you can import MX-5s from the NA and NB generations, as well as first half of the NC generation. In Canada, sellers tend to know what they have, and they don’t often go for less than $15,000 unless they need a lot of work. Importers have units of the Japanese-market Mazda Roadster and Eunos Roadster listed in great condition, some for $15,000 or less. On the subject of Mazda, JDM enthusiasts often target Mazda RX-7s and Mazda RX-8s for their legendary rotary engines, but our search didn’t find sufficiently good bargains to merit adding it to this list.
Mitsubishi Delica
This one’s for the handy folks. The Mitsubishi Delica is highly prized in custom circles for the phenomenal platform it provides for campervan rebuilds. Of course, you can leave it as an eight-seat van as well and use it for its passenger capacity as well as exceptional ground clearance and available four-wheel drive (4WD).
U.S. importers can’t yet grab the early years of the fifth generation, but Canadians can. These come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, a 2.4-litre four-cylinder, or the popular 2.2-litre turbodiesel. It’s not unusual to see these listed for $10,000 or less, and they get snapped up quickly.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Remember when Mitsubishi sold sports cars? The rise of the SUV in North America has relegated these days to nostalgia, and with them has gone the legendary Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. If you’re searching for one on the used car market and not having much luck, consider looking at imports.
Earlier model years of the Evo X qualify for classic car import into Canada, featuring an aluminum-alloy 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder engine. For the Japanese market, it was tuned to produce 276 horsepower with Super All-wheel Control AWD and a choice of either a manual or dual-clutch transmission.
Since the Evo X was the only generation that ever made it to the domestic market in Canada, you may wish to shop for an older version of this JDM sports car. The eighth and ninth generations were sold in the U.S. but not here, so you should, in theory, have less competition for these than other JDM cars. There were no examples available for us to check prices on as of this writing, but expect Evos to carry a significant premium over standard Lancers.
Nissan Skyline
If you’ve taken the time to read this article, you probably don’t need to be told that the Nissan Skyline is a JDM classic and one of the most desirable nameplates around for import from Japan. We could tell you to shoot for a Nissan Skyline GT-R (pictured), but so will everyone else. If you’re looking for a smart buy, skip the supercar pricing and see if you can track down an eleventh-generation Skyline 370GT, which formed the bases of the North American Infiniti G37.
This rear-wheel drive coupe is a sleeper with its 3.7-litre naturally aspirated V6 producing 330 horsepower, routed through either a six-speed manual or an automatic transmission to rear-wheel drive.
Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Few cars will earn you as much respect at a cars and coffee meet-up as a right-hand drive JDM Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Sure, domestic market versions are currently available for similar prices on the used market, but usually with higher kilometre counts.
You shouldn’t have to pay much more than $15,000 to get a 15- to 20-year-old Subaru WRX STI into Canada through a JDM importer. If you want something unique, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI 20th Anniversary edition became eligible for import into Canada in October 2023. Just 300 of these were made and they were sold exclusively in Japan. With 308 hp, a manual transmission, and standard AWD, these would be a barrel of laughs on snow-covered Canadian roads.
Suzuki Jimny
The diminutive Suzuki Jimny is ridiculously kawaii (a Japanese cultural term that literally translates to 'cute') and will turn heads everywhere you go. This tiny off-roader was designed to be a kei car, the smallest class of street-legal vehicles by Japanese law. On the import market, you’re most likely to find the third-generation Jimny, which in Japan began in 1998 and ceased production in 2018. With just 80 hp from the 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine, it was hardly a workhorse, but what you give up in get up and go, you’ll recoup in delight at this unique and tiny machine. You’ll have no trouble finding a customs-cleared and workable Jimny for $8,000 or less from a JDM importer.
Toyota Hiace
There are so many Toyotas we could have listed here—the Toyota Celica GT Four, the Toyota Supra RZ, the Toyota MR2, the Toyota Crown—but let’s end this list with the weird and wonderful Toyota Hiace as another option for the do-it-yourself set. These quirky vans are large enough to seat up to 15, or the interior can be rebuilt to create a sturdy and spacious camper based on an available 4WD drivetrain.
Aim for the fifth-generation Hiace, which began with the 2005 model year. You should be able to choose from either a 2.7-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine or a 2.5-litre turbodiesel as well as wide or long-wheelbase and low or high roof options. These tend to run a bit more expensive than other JDM vans at $14,000 to $18,000, but they’re essentially bulletproof.
If you’d like to expand your horizons, the Subaru Sambar and Suzuki Every Van are also popular 4WD van options.
Honourable mention: check out the kei trucks
Kei trucks are having a moment on social media. If you’ve always wanted to drive your own personal Tonka truck, consider this your chance. The Suzuki Carry, the Daihatsu Hijet, and the Honda Acty are all available in this diminutive style through JDM importers. We cross-shopped several different companies and found the vast majority priced at $7,000 or less.
