YOKOHAMA (dpa-AFX) - Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, TYT.L) Wednesday reported declines in production and sales for the month of August, while exports grew marginally from the previous year.
Meanwhile, smaller rivals Nissan Motor Co Ltd. (NSANY) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMTOF) reported production growth for the month.
For Toyota, worldwide production declined 4.1 percent in August to 746,598 units.
Production in Japan fell 9.6 percent to 298,288 units, and overseas production edged down 0.1 percent to 448,310 units.
In the domestic market, production of passenger cars declined 12.1 percent, even as trucks & buses produced were 6.7 percent higher.
Sales in Japan fell 9.8 percent to 154,883 units due mainly to a 12 percent decline in passenger cars. Sales of trucks & buses saw a 4.7 percent increase.
For the Toyota brand, total production in Japan were 10.9 percent lower at 233,514 units. Production of passenger cars fell 12.3 percent while that of trucks & buses grew 2.3 percent. The brand saw a 12.6 drop in sales in Japan while exports dropped due to decreased exports to Europe, Asia and Africa.
Total exports of vehicles edged up 0.7 percent to 147,033 units. Export of passenger cars slid 0.6 percent to 124,074 vehicles while that of trucks & buses grew 8.2 percent to 22,959 units.
Domestic peer Nissan said its global production increased 2.1 percent to 395,767 units, marking an all-time record for the month of August.
Production in Japan fell 11.7 percent to 77,812 units while production outside of Japan increased 6.2 percent to 317,955 units.
In the U.S., production improved 23.4 percent amid increased demand for Pathfinder. Production in Mexico increased 5.3 percent, mainly due to an uptick in demand for Versa.
China saw a production growth of nearly 15 percent as a result of increased demand for the Venucia R50, the Sylphy series and Qashqai.
The automaker's global sales increased 3.1 percent to 391,851 units, which was also an all-time record for August. Including mini-vehicles, sales climbed 12.4 percent in Japan. Overseas sales grew 1.9 percent.
However, Nissan's exports in August decreased 11.5 percent to 44,327 units. Exports to North America declined 10.5 percent to 29,592 units while that to Europe plunged 63.6 percent to 2,234 units.
Mitsubishi said its total production for August increased 5.9 percent to 92,089 units. Domestic production climbed 14.2 percent to 44,542 units, while overseas production edged down 0.8 percent to 47,547 units.
In Japan, production of passenger cars climbed 18.1 percent, while that of commercial vehicles declined nearly 11 percent.
Domestic sales, including imports to Japan, of passenger cars, jumped 34.4 percent while that of commercial vehicles dropped 7.3 percent.
Exports fell more than 10 percent with a 11.1 percent drop in passenger cars even as export of commercial vehicles surged 62.8 percent.
Toyota shares closed up 0.5 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday at 6,470 yen. Nissan rose 0.3 percent to 1,017 yen while Mitsubishi rose 0.6 percent to settle at 1,083 yen.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2013 AFX News
