Product and leadership issues flatten Toyota’s global sales

Toyota’s sales, production, and export results for July 2024 indicate a continuation of the global decline that marked H1. Worldwide production (804,610 units) fell 0.6% from the previous year: smaller than the -13% recorded in June 2024 but also the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year (YoY) decrease. Global sales held relatively flat at -0.2%.

As before, the automaker attributed its lack of growth primarily to loss of popularity in China. Toyota previously enjoyed nine straight years (2013-2021) of YoY gains, peaking at more than 1.8 million units sold and a 9% market share. In 2022, Chinese sales dropped off 13.5% and haven’t recovered since. The company identified “severe market conditions, such as intensifying price competition” with China’s domestic brands as the main factor, and Toyota is not the only Japanese OEM struggling to overcome this challenge.