Nissan Motor’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, remained Japan’s top-paid executive last fiscal year, when he cashed Y987 million ($12.5 million) in salary and bonus.

Ghosn earned 0.5 percent more than the previous year, reflecting Nissan’s solid performance as the company was Japan’s most profitable car maker, for the first time in at least twenty years.

Ghosn’s counterpart at Toyota Motor earned the same amount as last year, while Honda’s CEO earned less. In another point of comparison, Ghosn earned more than the total compensation for the 21 most senior executives working at Sony.

“Ghosn has done an incredible job in the last 10, 12 years in turning Nissan into a very solid company again,” said an industry director based in London, quoted by Bloomberg. “His salary is a small price Nissan has to pay for his success.”

Ghosn’s announced earnings do not include stock options and compensations he is entitled to as head of Nissan’s partner, Renault.

According to Nissan, the average CEO pay for global automakers is $17.5 million. Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally earns $29 million, while Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen’s head, cashes $23 million yearly.