Toyota manufactured and sold a record number of cars in July, stretching the carmaker’s streak to a seventh consecutive month, on strong demand in the U.S. and China despite global trade uncertainties.
Toyota’s worldwide sales — which include subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino — rose 4% from a year earlier to 963,796 units, the company said Thursday. While domestic sales dropped 2%, there was a 6% jump in markets outside of Japan.
Toyota and Lexus brand sales in North America were particularly strong, with demand for trucks, SUVs and gas-electric hybrid models leading to a 20% jump. Sales in China rose 5.7%.
The carmaker’s production has also climbed. Global output was up 2.6% to 947,943 units in July, with a domestic slump overshadowed by an increase elsewhere.
Toyota has seen a sales boom in 2025 on strong demand for hybrids and a rush by consumers in the earlier part of the year to buy vehicles ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported cars and parts. Japanese cars now incur a 15% duty on imports to the U.S., a reprieve from the additional 25% rate they had faced, though still a substantial headwind for the industry’s top brands.
Earlier this month, Toyota lowered its annual profit guidance as it warned of a ¥1.4 trillion ($9.5 billion) hit to its bottom line from Trump’s tariffs. It now sees ¥3.2 trillion in operating income for the fiscal year ending in March 2026, down from its initial forecast of ¥3.8 trillion.
Meanwhile, Honda’s global sales were down 7.6% to 279,727 units in July, it said, due in part to a drop in sales in China. Production fell 7% to 277,635.
Nissan saw sales rise 0.5% to 262,745 units, avoiding a decline for the first time in 16 months. That’s due to a 22% jump in Chinese sales on demand for the fully-electric N7.
Beyond the trade uncertainties, and despite a bump in the popularity of hybrids, Toyota and other legacy Japanese makers face intensifying competition from the high-tech, market-leading electric models offered by the likes of China’s BYD and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
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