The car maker, who has had a horrible year in terms of public perception and quality issues, has posted today a sales figure for last month which is 7.3 percent down from the same period last year. Toyota sold 129,317 units, despite having an extra sales day at its disposal in November 2010, compared to November 2009.
The Toyota brand reported sales of 111,077 vehicles, a decrease of 7.6 percent compared to the year-ago month. The light trucks division posted sales of 52,376 units, an increase of 15.2 percent over the same period last year, while Scion sold 3,834 unit. The worst performer from the group was Lexus, whose sales dropped the most: 9,188 units, or 12.4 percent down.
Even the hybrids, the pride of Toyota, have failed their master last month, posting sales of 14,041, 7 percent fewer than the same month of 2009.
Separately, the Japanese manufacturer was hit this week by another quality issue. This time, a coolant pump problem discovered in several hundred thousand Prius models manufactured in between 2004 and 2007 has prompted the manufacturer into announcing a “customer satisfaction campaign,” a non-recall recall which will cost the manufacturer some more millions and popularity points to fix.
Perhaps the $73 million in damages sought from GM in a recent lawsuit filed against GM on the NUMMI closer issue might bring back both money and popularity to the manufacturer.
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