Toyota hybrids thrive amid global sales slump over safety scandals and foreign recalls

By: Bloomberg
| Updated on: 27 Sep 2024, 11:15 AM

Sales of Toyota Motor Corp. fell again after declines in Japan and China put an end to a short-lived recovery, while production was disrupted by domes

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While hybrid gas-electric cars from Toyota are observing renewed popularity, global sales slump and competition in domestic markets are weighing down on the carmaker. (REUTERS)

Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales fell again after declines in Japan and China put an end to a short-lived recovery, while production was disrupted by domestic scandals and recalls abroad.

Global output, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., dropped in August by 12.6 per cent from a year earlier to 808,023 units, the company said Friday. Global sales fell 3.7 per cent year on year following a 0.7 per cent gain in July.

Toyota’s sales fell more than nine per cent in Japan as it felt the delayed impact of recent regulatory scandals involving falsified vehicle safety certifications, which forced a number of the country’s biggest carmakers to suspend production for affected models.

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Its hybrid gas-electric cars saw renewed popularity as demand for electric vehicles plateaued, but a global slump in new car sales and intense competition in China are weighing on the world’s biggest carmaker.

While certain models like its Granvia minivan are proving popular in China, Toyota’s sales in the country fell 13.5 per cent to 152,065 units in August with an ongoing price war with the likes of BYD Co. threatening to further squeeze its market share.

A downturn in EV demand has led some of the world’s biggest automakers to scale back electrification goals. Last month, a Nikkei report said Toyota had slashed its 2026 annual sales goal from 1.5 million battery EVs, to 1 million.

Toyota sold 12,682 battery EVs in August, all but 119 of which were sold outside of Japan. Meanwhile, it sold 336,848 hybrids that month, a 22 per cent increase from last year.

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EV uptake has been slower in the island nation than in other major markets due to the dominance of hybrids and gas-powered cars.

Earlier this week, Toyota expanded the size of its share buyback to ¥1.2 trillion ($8.3 billion), adding ¥200 billion to a stock-repurchase plan announced in May.

The carmaker’s operating profit for the quarter that ended in June was ¥1.31 trillion, 17 per cent higher than a year earlier. Its hybrid variants are doing well in North America and the weak yen is helping it rake in revenue from abroad.

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First Published Date: 27 Sep 2024, 11:15 AM IST