Toyota US Sales Drop, Japan Disaster Takes Its Toll

Facing severe adversity at home, where its business has been seriously shaken by the twin disaster on March 11, Japanese auto maker Toyota reported a sizeable decrease in sales on the US market. Although not directly blaming the situation in Japan, the car maker says however that its main attention is directed toward reestablishing the production and supply process from and inside Japan.

More precisely, Toyota sold in March a total of 176,222 units, a number that represents a decrease of 9.2 percent compared to the same period last year. That brings the number of Toyota vehicles sold by Toyota in the first quarter of the year to 433,924 vehicles. Even with the decrease registered for March, this represents an increase of about 11 percent compared ti the previous period of last year.

The Toyota Division posted a sales number of 155,540 units, Lexus contributed with 10,503 units while the hybrid range contributed with 24,739 vehicles.

"Our thoughts are with our employees, business partners and their families in Japan during this difficult time. All of us at Toyota pledge our full support to the relief efforts and I thank our associates, dealers and suppliers for their generous donations, which, combined with Toyota Motor Corporation’s donation, have reached over $5 million to date,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, Toyota Motor Sales.

"Our sales momentum continued in March and contributed to a strong first-quarter close. With improving purchase intentions and healthy inventory levels heading into April, we feel confident about our sales outlook for the month ahead."