Toyota sells 7.41 million vehicles globally

Toyota Motor Corp yesterday said that it sold 7.41 million vehicles globally in the first nine months of the year, outpacing its competitors and retaining its title as the world's top-selling automaker.

The Toyota City-based carmaker sold 2.5 million vehicles in the July-to-September period, up 2.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Toyota's nine-month sales number includes those from its subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors.

Daihatsu mini vehicle sales totaled approximately 61,600 units – a 19.5 per cent increase from the previous year, while Hino Motors sold 119,000 vehicles, up nearly 3 per cent.

The bulk of Toyota sales were from outside of Japan, where the carmaker sold 5.66 million vehicles compared to only 1.7 million in Japan.

Toyota first increase in eight months was due to increased exports to North America, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa, while exports from Daihatsu decreased in two months, due to less exports to Latin America, Oceania, Asia, Africa and Europe and Hino also saw sales overseas decrease in two months, due to decreased exports to North America, Oceania, Asia, Africa and Europe.

But Toyota outsold its main competitors like General Motors (GM) and Volkswagen (VG). Toyota sold 7.41 million vehicles compared to GM's 7.25 million and VG's 7.03 million.

GM Held the title as world's biggest automaker for seven decades before losing it to Toyota in 2008. GM retook the title in 2011, when Toyota was forced to slow down production due the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that had damaged facilities of its parts suppliers.