Toyota cemented its position atop the world’s automaking giants, producing a record 10.7 million cars as a group for the 12 months ended March 31 thanks to increased capacity and production optimization in North America and Asia.
Global sales, which includes brands like Daihatsu and Hino, came in at 10.6 million units, up 1.7% on strong demand, Toyota said in a statement Thursday.
Output of Toyota-branded cars and Lexus models was 9.13 million units, broadly in line with what the company had forecast earlier.
A better supply of chips following the prolonged worldwide semiconductor dearth helped Toyota move away from Covid-induced production snarls. Although a bellwether for the rest of the global automobile industry and its suppliers, Toyota is under increasing pressure from companies that are plowing headlong into pure electric cars, like Tesla and Chinese behemoth BYD.
Recently installed CEO Koji Sato has said he remains confident that selling EVs alongside hybrid and gasoline-powered cars offers the best chance of securing the Japanese carmaker’s future.
Domestic production and sales for the 12-month period rose 1.3% and 2.4%, respectively, to 3.8 million units and 2 million units. For March, Toyota’s global production jumped 4.2% to a fresh high of 1.1 million vehicles, while sales climbed 2.4% to 1 million.
Shares in Toyota were up 1.2% on Thursday.
Separately, Honda said its global output for fiscal 2022 was 3.8 million vehicles; sales tumbled 17% to 3.6 million units.
Nissan’s global production dipped 3.7% to 3.3 million vehicles, while sales sunk 17%, to 3.2 million, the company said Thursday.