Toyota Motor Corp. said its group sold 5.16 million vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2024, surpassing German rival Volkswagen AG to maintain its top spot in global sales for a fifth straight year, Kyodo reported.
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But the group's global sales for January-June, including sales of Daihatsu Motor Co.'s small car unit. and subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd., which produces trucks, fell 4.7% from a year earlier due to production stoppages as a result of a series of quality scandals and lifeless sales in China.
According to German company, Volkswagen sold 4.35 million vehicles in the same period, compared with 4.37 million a year earlier.
Toyota Group's global production fell 9.8% to 5.07 million vehicles in the first six months, the automaker reports.
The group's sales in Japan fell 32% to 823,595 vehicles as Daihatsu temporarily suspended production after it was found that safety test data had been falsified.
Daihatsu resumed work at all its domestic assembly plants in early May after halting plants in December.
Toyota also halted some production in Japan for the first half of the year after admitting it had been testing vehicles in a manner not specified by the government. A recent recall of the popular Prius hybrid car also weighed on sales.
Overseas sales rise
Overseas sales rose 3.1 percent to 4.34 million vehicles, driven by strong demand in North America and Europe, Toyota said.
However, Toyota is struggling for sales in China, with sales of Toyota and luxury brand Lexus falling 10.8 percent in the country. Price competition is intensifying, with local automakers expanding their range of affordable electric vehicles.
Toyota and Lexus sold a combined 4.89 million vehicles globally in the first half of the year, while Daihatsu and Hino sold 210,910 and 59,273, respectively.
- Cars