Toyota Reports August Sales
4 September 1997
Toyota Reports Strong August Sales
TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 3 -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS),
Inc., today announced strong August sales of 117,995 cars and trucks, a slight
decrease compared to the previous year's all-time best-ever August. Year-to-
date sales of 856,172 are 8.0 percent ahead of 1996.
"Sustained job growth and affordable interest rates have created bullish
consumer confidence, " said Yale Gieszl, TMS executive vice president. "The
result is a gradual and predictable expansion of the economy in the third
quarter that we see holding steady for the remainder of the year."
Toyota's 4Runner continued to sell in record numbers. August sales of
13,705 units were up 52.0 percent and represented the best-ever single sales
month in the vehicle's history. Year-to-date, 4Runner sales of 87,967 are
31.7 percent ahead of last year.
RAV4 posted strong sales of 7,111 units, up 3.6 percent. Year-to-date
sales of 46,638 are 27.5 percent ahead of last year.
Camry, with 36,765 sales during August, remains up 12.1 percent for the
year at 275,806 units. Corolla year-to-date sales of 159,867, up 9.5 percent,
continued to hold strong in the fifth and final year of its current model
cycle.
The Lexus Division reported its best-ever single sales month with sales of
11,117, up 41.4 percent. Leading Lexus' sales was ES 300 with its best-ever
month of 7,711 sales, an increase of 87.7 percent. A strong performance was
also seen from LX 450, up 40.6 percent with 826.
North American-produced vehicles made up 57.5 percent of Toyota's August
sales, up from 55.5 percent the previous year. There were 26 selling days in
August 1997, compared with 27 for the previous year.
TOYOTA/LEXUS SALES
AUGUST, 1997
CURRENT MONTH CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE
DSR % DSR %
1997 1996 CHG 1997 1996 CHG
TOTAL VEHICLE SALES 117,995 128,216 -4.4 856,172 800,421 8.0
Memo: Total Toyota Div.106,878 120,036 -7.5 791,496 747,481 6.9
Memo: Total Lexus Div. 11,117 8,180 41.1 64,676 52,940 23.4
TOYOTA DIV. IMPORT CAR 13,937 25,312 -42.8 92,164 120,548 -22.8
LEXUS IMPORT CAR 10,291 7,570 41.2 59,212 47,887 24.9
TOYOTA DIV NA BUILT CARS53,334 54,372 1.9 433,788 385,407 13.7
TOTAL TOYOTA CARS 77,562 87,254 -7.7 585,164 553,842 6.7
SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES 22,659 18,461 27.5 148,139 117,928 26.8
Memo: Lexus Sport Utility 826 610 40.6 5,464 5,053 9.2
SMALL VANS 266 1,104 -75.0 3,499 6,268 -43.6
PICKUPS 17,508 21,397 -15.0 119,370 122,383 -1.5
* NORTH AMERICAN
BUILT VEHICLES
COROLLA 21,447 23,799 -6.4 158,908 141,871 13.1
CAMRY 26,034 23,128 16.9 225,070 194,439 16.9
AVALON 5,853 7,445 -18.4 49,810 49,097 2.4
PICKUP 14,513 16,801 -10.3 96,452 96,152 1.3
TOTAL 67,847 71,173 -1.0 530,240 481,559 11.2
N.A. VEHICLES % OF TOTAL57.5% 55.5% --- 61.9% 60.2% ---
SELLING DAYS 26 27 --- 205 207 ---
DSR = DAILY SELLING RATE
SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, USA