Automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A Inc. (TM) Tuesday reported 11.5% drop in June U.S. sales on a daily selling rate basis, hurt primarily by a sharp decline in truck and SUV sales as customers continued the shift to small and fuel-efficient vehicles amidst spiraling oil prices.
For the month of June, Toyota recorded sales of 193,234 units, a decrease of 11.5% from last June. The number of selling days in June 2008 was 24, lesser than 27 selling days in June 2007.
Total Toyota Division sales for the month decreased 10.3% to 172,981 units and Lexus Division sales dropped 21.1% to 20,253 units.
Passenger car sales for the month at the Toyota Division increased 4.4% to 119,024 units, led by a 30% growth in Corolla sales. The combined June sales of Camry and Camry Hybrid improved to 41,572 units from last year, while sales of Yaris rose 4.1% to 8,472 units. Sales of Prius hybrid gas-electric mid-size sedan were 11,765 units for the month.
Total passenger car sales for the month at the Lexus Division dropped 16.6% to 12,942 units. The ES 350 luxury sedan sales for the month totaled 5,726 units, while the combined sales of IS entry luxury sport sedan was 4,324 units. The combined sales of LS flagship luxury sedan and GS luxury sport sedan were 1,525 units and 1,213 units, respectively.
June sales of light trucks at the Toyota Division declined 31.5% to 53,957 units, led by Tacoma mid-size pickup that sold 11,364 units and Tundra full-size pickup with sales of 10,238 units. Monthly combined sales of Highlander and Highlander Hybrid was 6,872 units, while sales of Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV was 1,511 units. June sales of Sequoia climbed 40.8% to 2,444 units.
Sales of Scion for the month were 11,870 units. The xB urban utility vehicle sales for the month improved to 4,685 units from last year, while tC sports coupe and xD reported June sales of 4,155 units and 3,026 units, respectively.
Light truck sales at the Lexus Division dropped 27.9% in June to 7,311 units. Combined sales of RX luxury utility vehicle totaled 5,820 units. The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle sales for the month were 1,330 units. June sales of LX 570 luxury utility vehicle more than tripled to 631 units from the comparable month last year.
Total hybrid sales for the month were 17,806, with Toyota Division hybrid sales totaling 16,330 units and Lexus Division reporting hybrid sales of 1,476 units. Total hybrid sales for the first-half of the year were 145,159 vehicles.
Jim Lentz, President of Toyota Motor Sales, commented, "As the pendulum swings towards smaller, higher-mileage vehicles, we're well-poised to offer the right products at the right time. A five-door liftback will soon join the Yaris line-up, widening the choice for value-conscious consumers in challenging economic times."
On June 16, Toyota reduced production of Tundra pickups in the U.S to overcome surging fuel prices that lowered truck sales, the company's second production cut in four months. In March, Toyota had announced a reduction in Tundra production. The two Toyota plants affected by the recent reduction eliminated some 200 temporary employees in San Antonio.
Earlier in the day, U.S automobile manufacturer General Motors Corp. (GM) reported 18.5% decline in total vehicle sales for June, with a 16.6% drop in truck sales and 21.1% decline in car sales. Adjusted for selling days, GM's total vehicle sales dropped 8.3% and truck sales declined 6.2%, while car sales decreased 11.2%.
GM's competitor Ford Motor Co. (F) reported a 28.1% drop in June vehicle sales. Ford's total car sales for the month dropped 12.1%, while truck sales decreased 35.6% from the corresponding period last year.
Separately, Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) said June sales dropped 17.7% compared to the same month last year, while Honda Motor Co. (HMC) sales rose 1.1% from last year despite fewer selling days. There were 24 selling days in June 2008, compared to 27 selling days in the previous year period.
TM ended Tuesday's trading down 0.21% at $93.80, on a volume of about 1.30 million shares. The stock has been moving in a range of $91.21-$128.33 for the past twelve months, with a three-month average volume of about 682 thousand shares.
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