Toyota Posts First Worldwide Drop in Quarterly Sales in 7 Years

27 October 2008

Kyodo. Toyota worldwide sales in the July-September quarter fell 4% year-on-year, the first quarterly sales decline in seven years amid a slowing global economy and high gasoline prices.

Toyota officials traced the sales fall in the July-September quarter to a rapid deceleration in the global economy buffeted by the US credit turmoil and to the gas price run-up that has undercut consumer appetite for automobiles.

They also cited a slowdown in emerging economies like China, which had until recently acted like an engine for global economic growth, as a factor behind the quarterly sales fall.