Toyota sales in May hit third monthly record on Japan, US demand
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TOYKO Toyota Motor’s sales reached a third straight monthly record in May on strong demand for hybrid vehicles in the US, Japan and China, even as global automakers braced themselves for big losses to come from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported cars.
Toyota’s global sales – including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors – reached 955,532 vehicles in May, up 8 per cent from a year earlier, it said on June 27. Worldwide production came in at 906,984 units.
Toyota and its Lexus brand vehicle sales rose more than 4 per cent in Japan, 7 per cent in China and 11 per cent in North America.
Honda’s global sales were down 4 per cent in May to 298,167 units. Production fell 6 per cent, it said.
Nissan sold 256,159 units in May, a 6 per cent drop year on year, as output fell almost 17 per cent to 229,645 units.
Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, will raise prices in July of some vehicles it sells in the US by more than US$200 (S$255), as part of a regular revision based on factors that include market conditions and competition, a spokesperson said last week.
The move came after Mitsubishi Motors announced it was hiking US prices for three models. Major automakers have been scrambling to minimise the fallout of the trade war between the US and China.
Japan’s biggest carmakers, which rely heavily on the US market, are facing billions in losses should negotiations with the White House fail to lower tariff levels.
Toyota said in May that it was expecting a 180 billion yen (S$1.6 billion) hit from tariffs in April and May alone. Nissan Motor and Honda Motor both forecast a US$3 billion impact, while Subaru and Mazda Motor withheld their annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending March 2026.
Japan’s chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on June 26 that the country cannot accept Mr Trump’s 25 per cent auto tariffs. He said Japanese automakers produce roughly 3.3 million cars a year in the US, which is much more than the 1.37 million they ship there. BLOOMBERG
