According to foreign media reports, thanks to strong demand for hybrid models in the United States, Japan and China, Toyota Motor Company’s global sales in May hit a record for the third consecutive month, although global car companies are facing huge loss pressure caused by US President Trump’s tariffs on imported cars.
According to data released by Toyota on June 27, its global sales in May, including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., reached 955,532 units, a year-on-year increase, and cumulative sales in the first five months of this year were 4,607,634 units, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year.
Image source: Toyota Motor
Toyota May Globalyield906,984 units, a year-on-year increase of 0.8%. Despite Toyota’s good production performance in China and North America, total global production remained stable year-on-year in May due to the reduction in the scale of operations in Japan. The company’s cumulative production from January to May this year was 4,559,584 units, a year-on-year increase of 9.1%.
Regionally, sales of Toyota and its Lexus brand in Japan increased by more than 4% to 106,586 units in May. This was mainly due to Toyota’s recovery from last year’s homologation issues and recall incidents, as well as a boost from the launch of new models such as the Land Cruiser 250 and Crown Estate.
In Asian markets excluding Japan, Toyota’s sales in May were 271,093 units, up 5.6% year-on-year. Sales in the Chinese market were 149,887 units, up 6.8% year-on-year. Although in the Chinese market,New energy vehiclesToyota sales continued to grow thanks to the strong performance of Toyota hybrid models (HEVs) driven by government subsidies, despite continued transformation, price competition and promotional initiatives.
In North America, Toyota’s sales in May increased by 11% to 280,928 units. Sales in the U.S. market were 240,176 units, up 11% year-on-year, driven by continued strong demand in the region and strong sales of Camry, RAV4 and other models.
Toyota sold 99,884 units in Europe, up 3.4% year-on-year, and the sales of hybrid models such as the Yaris and Yaris Cross continued to drive Toyota’s growth momentum in the European market.
A spokesperson for Toyota Motor recently said that based on factors such as market environment and market competition, the company will raise the price of some models sold in the United States by more than $200 next month, and said that this move is part of the company’s regular price adjustments. Previously, Mitsubishi Motors had announced that it would raise the prices of three models in the United States. At present, major car companies are scrambling to minimize the impact of US-China trade frictions.
Japan’s major car companies are highly dependent on the US market, and if trade negotiations between Japan and the United States fail to reduce the level of car tariffs, Japanese car companies may face billions of dollars in losses.
Toyota said in May that tariffs would cost it 180 billion yen (about $1.2 billion) in April and May alone. Nissan and Honda are the sameforecastThe loss amounted to $3 billion, while Subaru and Mazda have not yet announced their annual profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 2026 due to the tariff shock.
