Toyota Motor Europe (TME) posted a 1.7% sales increase in 2011 to take its market share to 4.2% including its luxury Lexus brand, the company said in a statement.
Total sales were 822,386 units, up 14,075 from 2010. These were split 778,749 for Toyota and 43,637 for Lexus.
“Despite severe supply disruptions during the year and increasingly uncertain economic conditions, we have worked hard to restart our growth in Europe and we were able to post an increase over last year,” said Didier Leroy, president and CEO of TME. “2012 will be challenging for the industry in Europe, but we are excited about our product offering in the coming months to help us continue the trend with the much-anticipated GT 86 compact sports car, bringing back the fun of driving, the first full hybrid in the compact B-segment with the Yaris Hybrid, an expansion of the Prius Family, and the all-new Lexus GS.”
While Russia – up 48% to 132,423 units – helped boost sales, Toyota also did well in Germany (up 8% at 83,000 units) and maintained its market leadership in Ireland where sales grew 10% to 12,879.
For Lexus, Russia continues to be a strong market with sales reaching 13,698, up 25% from 2010, while the UK posted a 33% increase from 2010 with sales of 8,270 units. The Netherlands made the biggest inroads with sales reaching 2,644 units, up 276% from 2010, with the CT 200h accounting for a remarkable 2,290 units. Total CT 200h sales in Europe were 17,000.
The best-selling Toyota was the Aygo with sales up 8% from 2010 at 89,252. A refreshed Aygo makes its debut this week at the Brussels motor show alongside its sister cars, the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107.