Toyota Motor Company's production and sales have been declining globally for three consecutive months.
On May 30th, Toyota released data showing that global sales decreased by 4.5% in April, with sales in the Chinese market decreasing by 27% and in the Japanese market decreasing by 14%. The decline in sales in these two key markets offset the relatively optimistic sales performance in the US and European markets, with the latter recording sales growth of 16% and 20% respectively in April.
In terms of production, Toyota's global production in April decreased by 4.0% year-on-year, while its production in China plummeted by 25.9%, and its domestic production in Japan also decreased by 7.9%.
As early as February this year, Toyota and its subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors saw a year-on-year decrease of 12.1% in global production, reaching 789100 vehicles; Global sales reached 753600 units, a year-on-year decrease of 12.0%.
In March, this trend remained unchanged, with global production decreasing by 15.9% to 886100 vehicles and global sales reaching 941200 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 7.4%. Especially in the Chinese market, the sales of the two joint ventures, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota, have declined by 7.2% and 31.9% respectively.
This downward trend indicates that Toyota's sales strategy in China is facing significant challenges. The ongoing price war has made it difficult for Toyota to maintain its attractiveness even with upgrades to key models such as the Camry. More consumers are inclined to choose electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which has also caused difficulties for Toyota to maintain sales. The company has a limited number of models in the above-mentioned sub sectors and its competitiveness is relatively average.
In Japan, Toyota's sales also face challenges. The production of the Prius model has been suspended due to quality inspection at the Tsukuba factory, Some production lines of Noah and Voxy small vans have been shut down, further exacerbating production instability.
In addition, Dafa Automobile, a subsidiary that is an important sales pillar, experienced a sharp decline in sales due to the testing fraud scandal exposed last year. As of April, Dafa's sales decreased by another 54% year-on-year. The scandal not only affected Toyota Group's overall sales, but also damaged its brand image.
As the world's largest automotive company, Toyota is in a critical stage of technological transformation. Recently, the company has demonstrated its diverse technological development path, including the development of next-generation engines suitable for hybrid and biofuel vehicles in collaboration with Mazda and Subaru.
In the Chinese market, Toyota signed a cooperation agreement with China Minmetals and Tsinghua University in April, aiming to accelerate the research and development process in the new energy field. In addition, although Toyota has denied rumors of adopting a DM-i hybrid system, the company's cooperation with local strong companies such as BYD in the electric vehicle field is still ongoing.
Toyota currently maintains a leading sales position globally, but the sharp decline in sales in the Chinese market and production cuts in key regions have kept investors cautious.
There is an external view that Toyota's continued investment in hybrid vehicles is not only a reflection of its strategic shift, but also a part of meeting the market's transition from traditional cars to all electric vehicles.
Faced with such adversity, Toyota's response strategy and recovery ability will be the key to its future competitiveness, especially in the context of the global market's increasing transition to green technology.