Toyota, world's largest car maker, sees sales drop in world's largest car market
- Toyota sales in February rise in the US and Europe but a big decline in China sees its global ledger in red for the month.
Toyota saw February sales in the United States rise by 16 per cent and by 14 per cent across markets in Europe. But its overall sales for the month - compared to the same month of 2023, tumbled by seven per cent due to one major factor: China.
China is the world's largest car market and how an automobile company fares here has a huge bearing on its global prospects. Little wonder then that while Toyota fared reasonably well in many markets in the month of February, its significant slide by as much as 36 per cent in China - vis-a-vis February of 2023 - has led to the overall slump.
Toyota has been a dominant player in China. But the going has become massively tough for both local as well as global car manufacturers in recent times. While demand for electric vehicles (EVs) isn't exactly growing on expected lines, the intensity of competition among brands across segments and fuel types has also led to rampant price cuts that have eaten into profit margins.
A key reason for a tough February this year may also be because of a week-long Lunar New Year holiday that occurred this month unlike in 2023 when it was in January.
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For Toyota in particular, the combined sales in the months of January and February this year is 0.7 per cent down from sales in the same two months a year ago.
Pain Points on Global Map for Toyota
Toyota reported sales dip in its home market of Japan where it saw a tumble by a third. The company saw double-digit decline in the Indonesian and Thai market as well.
Toyota's official global sales figures include models from Toyota as well as Lexus. If sales figures from Daihatsu - Japanese car manufacturer owned by Toyota - were to also be included, Toyota's global sales decline figure comes to around 66 per cent.
Additionally, it is reported that global production for the company in February declined by 2.6 per cent to 737,178 units.
(With inputs from wires)