Crisis-hit Toyota said yesterday that global sales rose 13 percent year-on-year last month, but analysts warned that the fallout from recent mass safety recalls would continue to hang over the company.
The Toyota group, which includes brands Daihatsu and Hino trucks, sold 613,845 vehicles worldwide last month, up from 543,435 a year earlier, a spokesman said.
The group’s global production in the same period jumped 69.2 percent to 734,631 units, of which 655,180 were for the Toyota brand alone.
Analysts said the figures were unsurprising given the auto industry’s troubles a year earlier as the world economic downturn eroded demand.
“The robust figures were largely due to a rebound from its sizable slump a year earlier. There was no surprise. The figures were within expectations,” said Mamoru Kato, auto analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
“It is too early to be optimistic about the fate of Toyota,” Kato said.
One of Japan’s most famed companies, Toyota has been battered by both the global economic downturn and by its massive safety woes over faulty accelerator and brake systems.
In recent months, the world’s largest automaker has been forced to recall more than 8 million vehicles worldwide mostly because of problems with sudden acceleration, which have been blamed for 58 deaths in the US.
Domestic sales continue to rise however, surging 32.1 percent year-on-year to 210,767 units, with sales in the Toyota brand alone up 49.9 percent.
The figures were largely boosted by the success of the Prius hybrid model, the best-selling car in Japan for the ninth consecutive month, according to figures released earlier by a professional body.
Vehicle exports from Japan more than doubled to 161,533 units, Toyota said in a statement.
However, “the negative impact of its mass recall is being felt in developed countries except Japan,” Kato said. “The prospect for Toyota’s business activities is still uncertain.”
Earlier this month, Toyota said sales in the US fell 8.7 percent year-on-year last month to 100,027 units.
The company last week faced its first US courtroom challenge as lawyers pressed for angry car owners to be allowed to bring a multibillion-dollar suit against the Japanese automaker.
It also announced a North American “quality task force” as it struggles to repair its reputation.
The task force will answer to Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder.
Other Japanese auto giants also yesterday reported strong year-on-year increases in production and sales for last month as demand continued to pick up.
Japan’s second-biggest automaker, Honda, said production worldwide increased 49.3 percent to 284,711 units, while Mazda production surged 73.7 percent to 100,126. Nissan saw worldwide sales gain 21.7 percent year-on-year.
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