Japanese automaker Toyota Motor said on Friday it sold 5.1% more vehicles in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period a year earlier, helped by an easing of semiconductor supply constraints and especially stronger demand in Japan.
The company sold some 4.9 million vehicles globally in the six months through June, including its luxury Lexus brand, compared with about 4.7 million vehicles during the same period in 2022.
Toyota’s sales in Japan jumped 33.2% to 878,215 units in the period versus a year earlier, while U.S. sales slipped 0.7% to just over 1 million vehicles and those in Asia declined half a percent to about 1.5 million units.
In the month of June, global sales rose 10% to 898,947 units, benefiting from growing demand, including for electrified vehicles such as hybrids, in key markets such as the United States and Europe.
China sales in June posted their first monthly decline in three months, falling 12.8% year-on-year to 174,548 vehicles. China sales were down 2.8% for January-June.
In June, Toyota sold 10,191 battery electric vehicles worldwide, including its Lexus brand, with about 5,000 of those sold in China. That brought the total number of battery-powered vehicles sold in the first half of 2023 to 46,171 units.
