"Improving economic conditions and the CARS program led to a significant increase for the industry in the third quarter over the first-half year," Don Esmond, TMS senior vice president of automotive operations explained the results. "Moving into the fourth quarter, we expect continued momentum will close the year on a bright note."
The best selling vehicles for the Toyota passenger cars divisions were the Camry and the Camry hybrid, which together brought 25,745 clients to the manufacturer. The over discussed Prius managed to sell 10,984 units. Lexus, the luxury division of Japanese company, reported 8,931 units sold, down 9.1 percent.
Toyota's hybrids sold in all 142,566 units since the beginning of the year, with some ten percent of them, 14,585 units, sold only in September (12,125 Toyota, 2,460 Lexus).
Toyota was the best selling brand under the US Car Allowance Rebate system, with 19 percent of the total sales going to the Japanese manufacturer. This is the main reason behind the increased third quarter Toyota performance in the US.
For the future however, if the Biller-Toyota scandal grows in proportions, it is unclear where Toyota's sales will be headed. Although, so far, few seem to pay any attention to the rollover cover-up allegations, a Texas federal judge issued a restraining order against the manufacturer, telling it to not destroy any document related to the matter.
The matter is being perceived as a Watergate type scandal, and may turn into a tough nut to
crack for the Japanese.
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