Toyota sales hit second monthly record on U.S. demand amid tariff rush
Toyota's sales hit a record for the second month in a row as a strong showing in the U.S. and Japan was boosted by customers making last-minute purchases before U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs took effect.
The automaker's global sales, including from subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors, reached 936,718 units in April, a 12% increase from a year earlier year and a record for the month, the company said Thursday. Production came in at 902,425 units worldwide.
Toyota and Lexus brand sales jumped 10% in the U.S. last month thanks to steady demand and an influx in orders as duties on imported cars and parts kicked in.
The scuffle caused by Trump's oscillating trade war has forced the world's biggest carmaker and its peers to weigh semipermanent countermeasures to stem short-term turmoil.
A 25% tariff was applied in April to all cars imported to the U.S., but on Thursday, Trump's global tariffs were deemed illegal and blocked by the U.S. trade court. The Trump administration said it was going to appeal the ruling.
Japanese carmakers are heavily reliant on the U.S. auto market and could suffer as much as a $19 billion impact from the tariffs.
Toyota, which has forecast a ¥180 billion ($1.2 billion) hit in April and May alone, has mostly stayed its course, emphasizing that it will respond flexibility but refrain from big changes until the future is less opaque. CEO Koji Sato earlier this month said the company will consider building out local product development and manufacturing in the U.S. in the medium to long term.
In March, Toyota's U.S. sales rose 8% from a year earlier while Honda recorded a 13% jump, and Nissan's rose 10%.
Mazda said it will pause U.S. production of one model variation that it exports to Canada. Honda plans to shift manufacturing of the hybrid version of its Civic from Japan to the U.S., while Nissan is halting U.S. orders for SUVs built in Mexico.
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