March 2006 Sales: Toyota Motor Company

[Variance]

Toyota Reports March Sales

04/03/2006 Torrance, CA

April 3, 2006 – Torrance, CA - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported all-time best-ever monthly sales of 217,286 units, up 6.9 percent over the same period last year. TMS passenger cars led the way in sales with best-ever March sales totaling 117,299 units, an increase of 0.6 percent over last March. TMS light trucks posted all-time best-ever monthly sales of 99,987 units, a 15.5 percent increase.

"March was no slam dunk for the industry, but sales bounced back from February's ho-hum pace, despite the erratic weather," said Jim Press, TMS president and COO. "With a near four-year high for consumer confidence, improved labor-market outlooks and a bevy of new products, the outlook remains bullish."

The Toyota Division recorded best-ever March sales of 189,694, an increase of 6.7 percent. The Lexus Division posted best-ever March sales of 27,592 units, up 8.3 percent over last March.

Toyota Division

Toyota Division's passenger cars posted March sales of 103,501 units. Camry recorded best-ever March sales of 38,981 units, an increase of 1.9 percent. Making its U.S. debut in mid-March, the Yaris sub-compact posted strong sales of 1,339 units.

Scion reported best-ever March sales of 14,248 units. The tC sports coupe had best-ever March sales of 6,368 units, up 2.1 percent. The xA subcompact posted a best-ever March with 2,820 units sold, an increase of 20.5 percent.

Toyota Division light-truck sales reported an all-time best-ever month of 86,193 units, an increase of 16.8 percent. Sales of the RAV4 reached an all-time best-ever of 13,494 units, up 116.5 percent over the same period last year. The all-new FJ Cruiser, which debuted in late March, posted strong March sales of 2,784 units. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported March sales of 2,987 units. Combined March sales of the Highlander and Highlander Hybrid totaled 11,622 units.

Lexus Division

Lexus passenger cars experienced best-ever March sales of 13,798 units, an increase of 9 percent. The IS luxury sport sedans reported an all-time best-ever sales month of 5,210 units, a 1086.8 percent increase over last March. The IS 250 reported sales of 3,821, with the IS 350 recording 1,389 units.

Lexus light trucks earned best-ever March sales of 13,794 units, an increase of 7.6 percent over last March. The RX luxury utility vehicles posted combined March sales of 10,971 units, an increase of 20.5 percent over last March. The RX 400h luxury hybrid SUV reported March sales of 2,470 units.

Sales of North American-built vehicles accounted for 57.1 percent of total March sales. There were 27 selling days both this March and March of 2005.

Link w/sales data: http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?...YT2006040381437

[ellives]

Interesting that Lexus numbers are down period-to-date and year-to-date over last year. Couple that info to the Cadillac numbers seems to indicate the lux market is down overall?

[sciguy_0504]

The ES, LS and SC are long-in-the-tooth, too.

[andy82471]

The ES, LS and SC are long-in-the-tooth, too.

I am guessing once the new ES and LS starts hitting the dealership, sales should go up significantly.

[VenSeattle]

When is Toyota going to fix their IS listing for current sales?

They don't make the IS300 anymore... It should list IS250 & IS350 just like the GS series...

[sciguy_0504]

When is Toyota going to fix their IS listing for current sales?

They don't make the IS300 anymore... It should list IS250 & IS350 just like the GS series...

Maybe when they stop selling the ones left over on the lots? Seems like all manufacturers list cars that are not made anymore...even if they sold 1.

[VenSeattle]

Maybe when they stop selling the ones left over on the lots?  Seems like all manufacturers list cars that are not made anymore...even if they sold 1.

Uhm... no. That's NOT what I'm talking about. Take a look again. Toyota is listing current sales of the IS250/IS350 under the IS300.

GM lists cars that are no longer in production to allow for comparison to last year's sales numbers. You don't see LaCrosse sales listing under Regal, or STS sales listing under Seville. It would be different if Toyota listed Lexus vehicles by their alpha designation (IS, ES, GS, etc) but Toyota doesn't. Toyota even lists GS300 & GS430 sales separately. It's not consistent.

It wouldn't be difficult, and actually more appropriate, to show last year's IS300 sales (or the few they may sale now) with a separate listing for IS250 & IS350.

[toyoguy]

The IS 250 reported sales of 3,821, with the IS 350 recording 1,389 units.

[VenSeattle]

I can read toyoguy...

Since it's so hard for people to comprehend:

ES 330              4,231   5,706   -25.8  10,787  14,776   -27.0

LS 430              1,341   2,537   -47.1   3,546   6,682   -46.9

SC 430                533     766   -30.4   1,384   1,770   -21.8

GS 300              2,205   2,482   -11.2   5,675   4,518    25.6

GS 430                278     727   -61.8     835   1,140   -26.8

IS 300              5,210     439 1,086.8  13,165   1,320   897.3

TOTAL LEXUS

PASS. CAR         13,798  12,657     9.0  35,392  30,206    17.2

And look... all 5,210 IS250s/IS350s accounted for and listed as IS300s.

And look... GS300 & GS430 sales as broken out separately.