Toyota’s sales eked out growth for the first time in six months on strong demand in Europe and Japan, even as recalls in the U.S. hindered the Japanese automaker’s recovery.
The automaker’s global sales — including subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino — rose 0.7 percent to 924,918 units in July, in what is the first uptick after a five straight months of declines, according to a company announcement.
Worldwide output increased 0.6 percent to 923,658 units.
While demand was robust in some Asian countries — such as for SUVs in India — recalls of the company’s Grand Highlander and Lexus TX in the U.S. proved to be a drag on July’s numbers.
And while Toyota’s new locally made Granvia minivan saw strong sales in China, the company still faced stiff competition from domestic automakers in the country in line with most global automakers.
The outlook for the current month appears gloomy as Typhoon Shanshan shut down all of Toyota’s Japanese plants until Aug. 30, and several of Daihatsu’s, adding to the troubles the world’s largest automaker is already facing back home.
Toyota has been dealing with the aftermath of multiple vehicle scandals at some of its subsidiaries in December, and then more recently in June at the automaker itself.
Kerrigan Advisors recently sat down with Donnie and Denny Buckalew, co-owners of Buckalew Chevrolet, the 5th highest-volume Chevrolet dealership in Houston, Texas, to discuss their perspective on the changing auto retail industry and how challenges facing single-point dealers influenced their decision to sell their dealership.
The company was dealt its first-ever corrective order by the Japanese government last month over the improper certification of some models, forcing it to suspend shipments.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported earlier this month that Toyota revised down its annual global production outlook from 10.3 million units to 9.8 million units because of the scandals.
Honda’s sales, meanwhile, fell about 4 percent from July 2023 to 302,625 units as strong demand for its hybrids in the U.S. was offset by a more than 40 percent decline in deliveries in China, the company said in a statement.
Production meanwhile rose 5 percent.
Global sales and output for Nissan decreased 1.3 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively, the company said.
