Toyota Motor’s global sales for May reached a third straight monthly record on strong demand in markets such as the United States despite hefty U.S. tariffs, the automaker said Friday.

Worldwide sales rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 898,721 vehicles, a record high for the month, driven by a robust demand for hybrid vehicles in North America, China and Japan, the company said.

By region, sales in the U.S. went up 10.9 percent to 240,176 units, while those in China climbed 6.8 percent to 149,887 units.
   
Domestic sales grew 4.4 percent to 106,586 units on a rebound from the previous year when Toyota was hit by a verification scandal.
   
Meanwhile, global production edged down 0.7 percent year-on-year to 806,677 units in May, the first drop in five months, due to fewer operating days in Japan, Toyota added.

The carmaker said production in the U.S. fell 1.8 percent to 120,539 units due to one fewer working day, while domestic output dipped 5.4 percent to 241,570 units.  

Xinhua/RSS