Toyota’s February Output, Sales Recover on Improved Supplies

Supriya Singh, Bloomberg News

Workers assemble a Toyota Motor Corp. Passo vehicle on the production line at the Daihatsu Motor Co. Kyoto plant in Oyamazaki, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Daihatsu, wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp., opened the renovated Kyoto plant to the members of media on Friday. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said global output rose 1.4% in February as the Japanese automaker recovers from a shortage of semiconductors for automobiles and lingering disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The world’s largest automaker produced 896,712 vehicles last month. Global sales, including Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., rose 10.5% to 856,376 units, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The numbers underscore Toyota’s global lead in selling combustion-engine vehicles just days before Lexus chief Koji Sato prepares to take over as chief executive officer and navigate the Japanese carmaker toward a future of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources. The big question is whether he can leverage Toyota’s current lead amid a once-in-a-generation shift in the global auto industry.

Domestic sales and production rose year-on-year for the second month in a row, with Japan sales climbing 38% to 213,698 units, Toyota said.

In February, Toyota maintained its forecast for output at 10.4 million units for the fiscal year ending this month.

Separately, Nissan Motor Co. said its global output rose 9.2% to 300,734 vehicles, while sales climbed 1.2% to 265,101 units.

Honda Motor Co.’s global production dipped 1.2% to 340,574 vehicles, declining for the fourth straight month, the company said.

(Updates with Honda, Nissan figures in last two paragraphs.)