Most Japanese vehicle manufacturers have announced strong growth in global production volumes in October.


Toyota global production was up 12% in October to 710,000 units, and Honda up 15.9% to 323,000 units. Both recorded a decline in domestic market sales in October, but production was nevertheless up thanks to strong exports. Toyota sales in Japan were down 5.6% to 130,000 units (cars and light commercial vehicles), but production was up 15.9% to 365,000 units. Honda domestic sales were down 6.2% to 50,000 vehicles in October, but exports were up a staggering 48% compared to a year ago, to 57,000 units, mainly due to a 125% increase in shipments to the USA (34,000 units). Honda’s North American production was also up (+4% to 123,000 vehicles).


Year-to-date Toyota group’s total production (including Daihatsu and Hino vehicles) is up 9.7% to 7,495,465 units. Of these 3,286,179 (43%) were produced overseas.


Honda now produces almost twice as many vehicles overseas as it does in Japan. Its global production for the January-October 2006 period totalled 3,021,865 units, of which 1,931,911 units (64%) were produced overseas.


Nissan, which has been less successful than Toyota or Honda in the last year, also saw global production rise strongly in October (+5.9% to 294,677). Overseas production rose 9.5% to 193,058 units. Strongest growth was in Mexico were production rose 43.6% to 44,778 units, due to the start of production of the new Sentra there. UK production was 13.3% to 29,218 units. Domestic production was down 0.5% to 101,619 units.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Mazda’s domestic output in October was up 17.8% to 84,116 units, while Mazda production overseas remained flat at 25,367 units.


Mitsubishi was the only major Japanese OEM to report a decline in global production. . Total global production came in at 108,087 units, a decline of 6.3 percent from a year ago period. Mitsubishi’s Japanese production rose 16.6% to 68,389 units.