Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its domestic sales declined for the second straight month in February, hit by a slew of data-rigging scandals among its group companies Daihatsu Motor Co. and Toyota Industries Corp.
The number of cars Toyota sold in Japan dropped 33.3 percent from a year earlier to 103,946 units, while domestic output slumped by 12.9 percent, also affected by the temporary suspension of its factories due to heavy snow, the world's largest automaker said.
Its sales outside of Japan slipped 6.9 percent to 719,630 units from the year before, falling for the first time in 13 months. Global output shrank for the first time in 14 months, dropping 2.6 percent to 737,178 units.
While the Japanese automaker reached a record global output of 9.16 million vehicles for fiscal 2023 with one month still left, it is unlikely to attain its production goal of 10.1 million units and sales of 10.4 million units due to the string of scandals.
Its affiliate Toyota Industries halted up to six production lines at four factories between Jan. 29 and March 3 after the company admitted to rigging engine power data. The suspension affected popular models including the Land Cruiser.
Daihatsu suspended manufacturing at all of its domestic plants in January after it admitted in December to data rigging during safety testing for most of its models, significantly affecting the parent's overall sales.
Sales in China sagged 35.7 percent compared to the previous year due to the Chinese New Year holidays in February, while those in North America and Europe remained strong.
Combined global production at Japan's eight major automakers fell 7.6 percent in February from a year earlier to 1.91 million vehicles, affected by the sharp drop in Toyota and fewer work days in China due to the country's New Year holidays, data from the carmakers showed.
Honda Motor Co. saw its output fall by 13.5 percent from a year earlier to 294,710 units, as it was also impacted by delays in the delivery of parts following the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year's Day.
Suzuki Motor Corp. was the only automaker to log growth, rising 10.4 percent to 287,450 units, thanks to a record-high production in India for February.
The combined domestic output dropped 16.3 percent to 588,354 units, while combined global sales decreased 1.1 percent to 1.87 million units.
