Toyota Global Sales Fall as China Demand Slumps

Toyota Motor reported a decline in global vehicle sales and production in July, as weaker demand in China, the United States and the Middle East outweighed stronger performance in its home market of Japan.

The Japanese automaker said global sales, including its luxury Lexus brand, fell 4.8% from a year earlier to 856,125 vehicles. Worldwide production also declined 2.1% during the month, reflecting pressure across several major automotive markets.

China was the biggest drag on Toyota’s July sales, with deliveries plunging 24.3% year over year. The decline marked the sixth consecutive month of falling sales in the country. Toyota attributed the weakness partly to higher petrol prices, which reduced demand for hybrid vehicles and traditional internal combustion engine models.

Toyota also faced softer demand in the United States, its largest market, where July sales slipped 0.8% from a year earlier. Sales in the Middle East recorded an even steeper 44.5% decline.

Those losses overshadowed a solid performance in Japan, where Toyota vehicle sales climbed 11.0% compared with the same period last year.

The company’s global production figures showed a similar trend. Output in China tumbled 32.7%, while U.S. production decreased 4.0%. In contrast, Toyota increased production in Japan by 12.4%, helping limit the overall decline in worldwide output to 2.1%.

Toyota’s export business from Japan provided another positive signal. The automaker shipped just over 196,000 vehicles overseas during July, representing a 10.2% increase from a year earlier.

It was the third consecutive month of growth for Toyota’s Japanese exports and the highest monthly export volume since October.

The July figures highlight the contrasting conditions facing Toyota across its key markets. While stronger domestic sales, production and exports supported the company’s performance, sharp weakness in China and the Middle East continued to weigh on its global results.