TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp's sales climbed in the first month of 2026, as the world's largest carmaker kept up its momentum following a banner year despite costly US tariffs and intense competition from China.
Although global production dipped slightly in January, sales - including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd. - rose 4.8% to 887,266 units from a year earlier, a record for any January, the company said Thursday.
Toyota's resilience stands out in an auto industry squeezed by tariffs, rising competition and uncertainty about the global EV transition.
As rivals warn of billions in added costs and seek to raise prices or shift production, Toyota has held its ground thanks to its scale and supply-chain flexibility.
Toyota kept its title as the world's top carmaker in 2025 by selling 11.3 million units, after widening its lead over Volkswagen AG group.
Toyota and Lexus brand sales grew 8.1% in the US and 6.6% in China in January.
Domestic sales, meanwhile, fell 2.7%.
Trump imposed a 15% tariff on Japan last year that would encompass all cars and car parts imported to the US.
While the nation dodged a bullet by talking the president down from steeper duties, that was still a sizable increase from previous rates of 2.5%.
Most Japanese automakers looked to soften the impact by moving to increase output in the US, but still they collectively bore billions of yen in losses as a result.
Toyota's global production shrank 4.2% in January to 848,020 units, with some impact from the switch to a new RAV4 model, its top-selling vehicle in the US.
