What changed
Toyota’s car sales fell for a seventh straight month, dragged by a 23% drop in Toyota- and Lexus-brand sales in China in August. Global group deliveries fell 7.5% from a year earlier, even as sales rose 2.6% in Europe and 9.1% in Japan.
Why it matters
China is the world’s biggest auto market, and local electric-vehicle makers are moving quickly while demand for gasoline and hybrid cars weakens. Toyota is still finding strength in hybrids elsewhere: it expects hybrid sales to exceed 5 million units for the first time in 2026.
That makes Toyota’s position look less like a simple technology bet than a regional split. Hybrids are helping in Japan and Europe, while the company faces sharper pressure in China, where consumers are cautious about expensive purchases amid the property crisis. Sales also fell 4.4% in the United States and by more than a third in the Middle East.
The practical question is whether Toyota’s hybrid advantage can offset its weakening position in China. The answer will depend on how much of the decline comes from electric-vehicle competition, cautious spending, property-market conditions and higher oil prices. The figures show the damage, but not the precise weight of each cause.
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