Toyota sold a record number of cars worldwide in March, despite the corona crisis and chip shortages facing the global auto industry.
Toyota’s sales were up 44 percent from March last year to 982,912 vehicles. Sales were particularly good in China and North America, now that the economy is recovering from the corona crisis and people are buying more new cars. Including the subsidiary brands Daihatsu and Hino, Toyota increased sales to nearly 1.1 million vehicles.
Production rose 32 percent in March compared to a year earlier, when Toyota was forced to shut down factories due to the corona pandemic. Earlier this year, the company also temporarily shut down several production lines due to the chip shortage, but that did not result in a major decrease in production capacity.
In the first quarter, total sales amounted to more than 2.7 million vehicles, 16.9 percent more than in the same period last year. Sales of the Toyota brand in particular are responsible for the growth, which rose by 19.1 percent. Daihatsu actually sold 1.9 percent fewer cars.
Europe
Earlier it was announced that the first quarter of 2021 also went very well for Toyota, especially in Europe. 287,678 Toyotas were sold in Europe in the past quarter, 6 percent more than last year in Q1, and a record high market share of 6.6 percent.