Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. led Japanese automakers in raising domestic output last month, because of increased exports and an extra day of production compared with last year.
Vehicle output in Japan by the country's 12 automakers rose 6.3 percent to 865,734 vehicles in May from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday. Exports rose 5.1 percent to 482,793.
Japanese carmakers are increasing production at home as growing demand abroad for fuel-efficient vehicles offsets a declining domestic market. The carmakers' shipments to the Middle East gained 28 percent and exports to Europe surged 25 percent.
Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, raised domestic production 8 percent to 322,841 vehicles in May. Honda, the second-largest, increased output 12 percent to 105,188. Production by Nissan, the country's third-biggest carmaker, fell 12 percent to 71,489.
Toyota's production rose because of an extra day of production and increased exports to regions outside North America, the company said.
Exports to Europe rose 50 percent to 36,508 units on strong Prius sales, and shipments to Asia rose 28 percent to 11,431. In particular, those to China, the world's second-largest vehicle market, surged 85 percent. Exports to the U.S. fell 8 percent to 94,000 as the company built more Corollas locally.
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