Toyota and Lexus European sales rose 13% in the first quarter to 233,336 vehicles with monthly vehicle consistently exceeding targets since June last year.
However, the earthquake in Japan and the subsequent impact on Toyota’s European operations will cause a shortage in supply of new vehicles in the second quarter.
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Toyota Motor Europe (TME) said yesterday that production at five European plants will be stopped for several days in late April/early May and will run at a reduced volume next month to manage available parts supply.
Toyota’s overall monthly sales in March surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time since March 2009 with increased demand for the Aygo, Auris, RAV4 and Land Cruiser. The Toyota Verso-S and Lexus CT 200h also made strong debuts in the first quarter of 2011.
TME sales chief Miguel Fonseca said the Aygo performed strongly with sales of 24,864 vehicles, up 16% from 2010. The Auris, Auris full hybrid and Corolla sedan also sold well in the C-segment market with sales of the Auris family up 45% and the Corolla sedan up 63%.
Market demand for SUVs remained high, with RAV4 and Land Cruiser sales increasing by more than 60%, to 22,498 and 11,757 vehicles respectively.
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By GlobalDataLexus posted sales of 10,254 vehicles, up 43% from 2010 and last month broke the marque’s all-time record with 6,519 customer contracts, helped by strong demand for the new CT 200h, advertised on TV by singer Kylie Minogue.
Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles sales rose 28% from 2010, with sales of 25,919 vehicles, representing 11% of overall sales for Toyota in Europe. March also saw Toyota’s global hybrid sales reach the 3m mark.
