Toyota’s global sales fell 6.4% year on year in August to 790,743 vehicles. Reuters reported that the company’s production also declined for a second straight month, slipping 5.9%.
The sharpest deterioration came in China, where Toyota’s sales dropped 22.8% in August. The negative trend has now continued for seven consecutive months, after a 24.3% decline in July.
Toyota says one reason for the downturn is higher gasoline prices, which have weighed on demand for hybrids and conventional internal combustion vehicles. The group is also facing pressure from the rapidly rising popularity of electric vehicles made by local brands.
Sales also weakened in other major markets. In the United States, the figure fell 4.4%, while in the Middle East it dropped 37.5%. Japan provided some offset, with sales there rising 9.1%.
On the production side, Toyota posted an 11.3% decline in China and a 6.6% drop in the United States. Output at Japanese plants fell 1.7%, partly because factories were halted after the earthquake on the island of Kyushu.
