Divyank Kushagra Bansal 
Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s largest automaker by volume, reported a drop in global sales and production in April 2024 from a year earlier, largely affected by an intense price war in China and a decline in Japan after repeated production stoppages of some models and a safety test scandal at its subsidiary, Daihatsu.
A 0.5% drop in global sales was reported, as a 27% slump in China and a 14% drop in Japan offset double-digit growth in the United States and Europe. Toyota claimed its China sales fell despite holding several promotional events at stores across the country. Meanwhile, in Japan, Toyota’s sales plunged due to Prius’ production halt for quality checks at its Tsutsumi plant and a partial halt of a production line at a Toyota Auto Body plant that makes the Noah and Voxy minivans. In April, Toyota recalled more than 135,000 units of the Prius in Japan due to a problem with the rear door handles. The Daihatsu safety test scandal, first reported in December last year, continues to affect Toyota’s sales and the start of EV production in the United States. The latter has been reportedly delayed to June 2026.
Toyota also reported a 4.0% drop in global production as weaker output in markets such as China, Japan, Thailand, and Mexico outweighed higher production in the United States and India. In February and March, Toyota was forced to repeatedly halt production at its Tijuana plant in Mexico due to local labour shortages and technical snags, as reported by Reuters. Combined for both months, production was affected for 19 days. Nearly 40% of the vehicles sold by Toyota in April were petrol-electric hybrids, while EVs accounted for just 2%.
The global sales and production figures include Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand.
