Toyota Motor Corp. group is set to be the world's top auto seller in the first half of 2023, outpacing Germany's Volkswagen AG and other rivals in the Jan.-June period for the fourth straight year, industry data showed Friday, Report informs via Kyodo News.
Toyota said it sold 5.42 million vehicles globally in the six months ended June, including those sold by the group's minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck manufacturer Hino Motors Ltd., up 5.5 percent from a year earlier.
The Japanese carmaker said the solid sales came as it ramped up production capacity across the globe to keep up with rising demand amid an easing chip shortage.
Volkswagen sold 4.37 million vehicles in the same period, up 12.8 percent.
The Toyota group's global output increased 10.3 percent to a record 5.63 million units. Its production outside Japan also hit an all-time high of 3.53 million vehicles, up 4.9 percent.
Domestic sales at the group rose 26.9 percent to 1.21 million vehicles in the period, thanks to the ongoing recovery from the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and a parts shortage.
Overseas sales increased 0.6 percent to 4.21 million cars as growth in Europe was partly offset by weaker sales in China, the automaker said.
Thanks to the RZ, an all-electric vehicle launched earlier this year under the upscale Lexus brand, Toyota's EV sales increased more than fivefold to 46,171 units in the period.
Among other carmakers, Honda Motor Co's first-half global sales fell 3.3 percent to 1.84 million units, while worldwide sales at Nissan Motor Co. were almost unchanged at 1.67 million cars.
Total global production by the eight major Japanese automakers rose 8.5 percent to 12.55 million units in the first half of this year as they bounce back from the pandemic and the parts-supply bottleneck.