NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp.'s global vehicle sales in October rose 5 percent from a year earlier to about 640,000 units, marking the first increase in 15 months, company sources said Wednesday.
The rise stemmed from government incentives worldwide, including domestic subsidies for environmentally friendly cars and China's tax breaks on compacts, the sources said.
Toyota's Prius gas-electric hybrid and compacts were particularly popular on the domestic market, with sales up 15 percent.
Sales remained solid in China, after gaining more than 40 percent in August and September from a year earlier, while sales in the United States were almost the same as a year before.
According to industry data released earlier in the month, the Prius was Japan's best-selling vehicle in October, staying in the top slot for the fifth straight month.
Mazda furlough ends
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Mazda Motor Corp. ended its program last week to have nonfactory employees take two days off per month after terminating a similar program for factory workers in June, company officials said Wednesday.
Mazda began reducing vehicle output last December with factory workers taking days off as demand plunged amid the global recession.