Toyota's Global Sales Dropped 7% In February Due, Led By Slumps In China, Japan

Due in large part to the Lunar New Year holidays in China and a backlash against a safety test scandal at its small car division in Japan, Toyota Motor's global sales fell 7% in February compared to the same month last year, Reuters reported.

The biggest auto market in the world, China, saw a 36% decline in sales as a result of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday falling in February this year instead of January. The brutal pricing war raging in China's auto industry is another factor contributing to the decline; according to Toyota, this competition has a negative impact on sales.

However, the sales decline in China for January and February combined was a much milder 0.7 percent, which was still less than a 6.4 percent increase in passenger vehicle sales sector-wide, according to data from an auto industry association.

Toyota saw a 33% decline in sales in Japan in February, despite a 16% increase in sales in the US and a 14% increase in sales throughout Europe. While Daihatsu brand vehicles are not included in Toyota's global sales total, the scandal's reputational impact and production stoppages at the company, which also produces some Toyota brand cars, hurt domestic sales.

Sales for the Japanese automaker dropped by double digits in the markets of Thailand and Indonesia.

In February, the largest automaker globally sold nearly two-fifths of its vehicles as gasoline-electric hybrids that saw Toyota's worldwide production fell 2.6% to 737,178 units.