Toyota global output drops 11.2% in August as quality scandal bites

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp said Friday its global production in August dropped 11.2 percent from a year earlier to 709,571 vehicles, falling for the seventh straight month, as output was partially suspended due to a vehicle certification scandal and a typhoon.

Domestic output slid 22.2 percent to 185,680 vehicles as production of its popular Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross models remained suspended after being halted in June.

The figure was also weighed down by Toyota's temporary production freeze at all its domestic factories due to an approaching typhoon in late August, the company said

The auto giant resumed production of the three models in early September after Japan's transport ministry confirmed the vehicles' safety and lifted its shipment ban on them, imposed after the automaker admitted to not fully following government standards in conducting vehicle tests.

Its production outside of Japan also fell, declining 6.5 percent to 523,891 vehicles, following a recall of the Grand Highlander and Lexus TX in North America.

The domestic quality scandal, coupled with stiff competition in China, also negatively impacted its global sales, sending the figure down 3.1 percent to 826,863 vehicles.

Toyota sold 109,505 units in Japan, down 9.1 percent, as it was unable to ship the three models affected by the quality scandal.

Sales in China declined 13.5 percent as local rivals offering more affordable electric vehicles continued to grab market share from Japanese automakers, leading to a 2.1 percent fall in overseas sales to 717,358 units.

The country's eight major automakers, including Toyota, built a total of 1.85 million cars globally in August, down 10.2 percent from a year earlier, as they continued to face tough competition in China, according to the companies.

Output at Nissan Motor Co. fell 15.5 percent to 236,016 cars due to weak sales of the X-Trail sport utility vehicle in China, while Honda Motor Co. saw an 11.3 percent decline to 307,870 vehicles.

Combined global sales of the eight automakers for the month fell 2.5 percent to 1.98 million cars, they said.

© KYODO