(Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp (TM). saw record global sales during the first half of 2025 as strong demand for hybrid vehicles in core markets helped offset headwinds from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars imported to the US.
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Toyota’s global sales — including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd (HINOY). — rose 7.4% to more than 5.5 million units between January and June, the company said Wednesday. That’s mostly due to strong demand in the US, Japan and China. Production grew 8.8% to 5.5 million units during the period, including a nearly 20% jump in domestic output.
The carmaker’s sales were bolstered in the early part of the year by a last-minute rush from customers to lock-in purchases before Trump’s 25% tariff on car imports.
While that sparked uncertainty across the global auto sector, Japan’s carmakers may be better placed than rivals following a trade pact reached this month that will see just a 15% duty on vehicles imported to the US.
The US is the biggest export market for Japanese carmakers, with $40.8 billion worth sold there last year and additional models imported from factories in Canada or Mexico. Toyota, which was set to face the biggest hit from tariffs among its peers, has said it hopes for improved ties between the US and Japan, and called for further reductions in duties.
The carmaker said that in June, global sales rose 2.7% to 937,246 units. Production increased 7.7% to 963,455 units.
While a rebound in the popularity of hybrids has helped its bottom line, Toyota and other legacy brands face intense competition from a wave of electric vehicle makers, led by Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Co. Toyota has sold about 82,000 battery EVs so far this year, almost all of which were delivered to customers outside of Japan.
Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co. said sales in June fell 8% to 285,479 units, while production was almost flat compared to the previous year. Nissan Motor Co.’s sales were down 5% last month to 262,133 units.
(Updates to add figures from Honda, Nissan in final paragraph.)
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