Petrol Stop - Toyota global sales up 15.3% on-year in Jan

Toyota global sales up 15.3% on-year in Jan

Monday, 22 February 2010

23 Feb 2010;economictimes.indiatimes.com:TOKYO: Toyota Motor's global sales in January were up 15.3 percent year-on-year, the company said on Tuesday, as the Japanese automaker showed resilience despite being hit by massive recalls that month. Toyota sold 537,454 vehicles in January, excluding subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu Motors, a spokeswoman said. The world's largest carmaker sold 416,411 Toyota cars, buses and trucks overseas and 121,043 units in Japan, she added. January domestic sales jumped 45.3 percent from the previous year, while overseas sales excluding Japan gained 8.8 percent. Toyota said it does not have global sales figures for Hino and Daihatsu. The new figures underlined robust demand for the iconic Japanese automaker although it faces a deep crisis over its flawed accelerator and brake systems that have forced it to pull 8.7 million vehicles worldwide. The major recalls in the United States, its biggest overseas market, as well as Europe and parts of Asia came toward the end of the month and may have had a stronger impact on consumer sentiment in February. The company also said worldwide production jumped 55.8 percent to 643,925 units in January from the previous year. Including Daihatsu and Hino vehicles, that figure amounted to an increase of 46.5 percent to 716,570. Company president Akio Toyoda is set to face a grilling by US lawmakers Wednesday, after the company revealed Monday that it had been subpoenaed in a US criminal investigation of its handling of the recalls.