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Toyota Motor held on to its title as the "world's best-selling automaker" for the seventh consecutive time, selling 5.39 million vehicles between January and June 2026, according to Kyodo News.
Toyota Motor released financial statements covering the group company's updated vehicle sales data from Jan. 1 to June 30.
According to the statements, Toyota's global vehicle sales fell by 2.8% compared to the same period in 2025, totaling 5.39 million units, marking the first year-on-year decline in two years. The drop reflected sluggish demand in China amid higher gasoline prices linked to tensions in the Middle East.
As a result, the Japanese company left its closest rival Volkswagen AG behind and retained the title of "world's best-selling automaker" for the first half of the year for the seventh time.
Logistics disruptions stemming from the Middle East situation also weighed on operations, with the Toyota group's global output edging down 0.3% to 5.51 million vehicles in the first half. Toyota's exports from Japan to the Middle East alone dropped 36% to 104,093 cars.
While Toyota's domestic sales in Japan rose by 4.4% to 1.1 million units, driven by strong sales of new models such as the bZ4X electric vehicle, overseas sales declined by 4.5% to 4.3 million vehicles.
Toyota's global sales of electrified vehicles, led by hybrid vehicles, grew 9.1% to 2.71 million cars, while EV sales jumped about 2.4-fold to 193,172 vehicles, both marking record highs for the first half.
Compared to the previous year, the manufacturer's six-month sales rose by 0.9% in the United States to 1.45 million vehicles, helped by solid demand for hybrid vehicles, while falling by 17.1% in China to 694,670 units and by 21.6% in the Middle East region to 218,855 cars.
In June alone, the Toyota group's global sales slipped 1.1% to 926,688 units, while global production climbed 2.2% to 984,408 cars.
Although the group had included Hino Motors Ltd. as a subsidiary alongside Daihatsu Motor Co. until March, Hino is no longer Toyota's consolidated subsidiary following its business integration with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. in April.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen AG's global vehicle sales for the January-June 2026 period fell by 8.4% compared to the first half of 2025, totaling 4.13 million units.
Global sales by Japan's eight major carmakers, including Toyota, fell 2.3% from the previous year to 11.92 million vehicles in the January-June period, with many of them struggling in the Chinese market. Sales by Honda Motor Co. decreased 6.5% from a year earlier, while Nissan Motor Co. saw a 6.7% decline in sales, both amid weak sales in China.
Sales by Suzuki Motor Corp. jumped 10.3%, boosted by strong demand in India where tax cuts have spurred consumption. Suzuki's six-month sales of 1.79 million units were a record high for the company for the period.
Global output by the eight carmakers edged up 0.8% to 12.03 million units, while their domestic production climbed 2.9% to 4.07 million vehicles.
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