Toyota sales in May hit third monthly record on Japan, US demand
Global automakers, however, are braced for big losses to come from Trump's tariffs on imported cars. PHOTO: AFP
Toyota sales in May hit third monthly record on Japan, US demand
TOYOTA - Toyota Motor's sales reached a third straight monthly record in May on strong demand for hybrid vehicles in the United States, Japan and China, even as global automakers braced for big losses to come from US President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars.
Toyota's global sales – including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors – reached 955,532 vehicles in May, up 8 per cent from a year earlier, the company 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.
The world's biggest carmaker will raise the prices in July of some vehicles it sells in the US by more than US$200, 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 (S$3.8 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 nation can't accept Trump's 25 per cent auto tariffs. Japanese automakers produce roughly 3.3 million cars annually in the US, Mr Akazawa said, which is much more than the 1.37 million they ship there.
Earlier this month, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda was reappointed with 97 per cent of voted shares during the company's annual general meeting. After a three-year slump in investor support, the rebound signaled a tacit approval of the carmaker's steady performance through a particularly tumultuous period for the global automobile industry. BLOOMBERG
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