Toyota’s group sales lost momentum in January after government probes revealed decades of fraud at two major affiliates.
Worldwide sales, including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino, rose 4.4% to 831,161 units last month compared to January 2023, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday. Domestic sales for January fell for the first time in 13 months while production fell 3.8% to 788,670 units, the first global decline in 13 months.
Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus saw sales and output grow in January, while its truckmaking subsidiary, Daihatsu — still recovering from a safety certification scandal that erupted in December — witnessed global sales and production plummet 51% and 68% respectively.
Toyota just came down from a bumper year, however, having sold more passenger vehicles than ever after demand for hybrids and recovering supply chains helped it maintain its lead over Volkswagen as the world’s top carmaker for a fourth year running.
But in late December, an internal investigation revealed that Daihatsu, which sells and supplies lightweight “kei” minitrucks, had been manipulating crash safety test results dating as far back as 1989. Daihatsu has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota since 2016.
Then, in January, Toyota Industries was found to have altered power output data for several engines it was supplying to Japanese carmakers.
The transport ministry revoked certification for and suspended domestic manufacturing of a number of the vehicle models and engine types, though most factories have restarted or announced a restart date.
Toyota said Wednesday it will resume production on March 4 at plants in Mie and Gifu prefectures after the transport ministry lifted bans on three engine types made by Toyota Industries.