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Investing.com-- Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) said on Thursday its vehicle production grew for a fifth consecutive month in October, while sales rose as strong U.S. demand for hybrids helped offset softer sales in China and Japan.
Global production increased nearly 4% to 926,987 units in October, Toyota said in a statement. Sales grew 2% to 922,087 units.
Toyota’s sales in the U.S., which is still the company’s biggest market, surged 11.8% to 207,910 vehicles, aided chiefly by strong demand for the company’s hybrid vehicles. Production in the country surged 26.4% to 137,262 units.
But sales in Japan, Toyota’s home market, fell 4.2% to 137,506 units, even as production grew 6.8%.
Chinese sales dropped 6.6%, while production slipped 6.4%, hurt in part by the expiration of several government subsidy programs, while intense competition from electric vehicles also weighed.
Thursday’s data showed the world’s largest automaker by volumes still logged a strong start to the December quarter, with U.S. demand seen remaining strong despite increased economic uncertainty in the country.
Toyota has benefited from outsized demand for its hybrid models– a category it pioneered decades ago– as cost-conscious consumers pivoted into the category over EVs.
October’s sales bring Toyota’s year-to-date sales to 8.7% million vehicles, up 4.5% from the same period last year. The company’s Japanese sales are also up 4.5% year-to-date.