Toyota rebounds with record March production, strong fiscal year figures

Having battled supply shortages more than most, Toyota claimed a couple of important wins earlier this week.

The world’s largest car brand confirmed that it produced more new cars in March than any month ever before. It also announced its sales figures for the full fiscal year, recording the second largest year in its history.

In March, Toyota produced a record 866,775 vehicles; 2.8% more vehicles than it produced in the same month last year.

The majority of that lift came from the brand’s factories outside of Japan, with a 13.6% increase in output reported and 605,016 vehicles produced.

In Japan, Toyota production dived by 15.8% year-on-year due in part to a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that forced a temporary production stop across 17 domestic production lines.

In the same month, Toyota managed to sell 903,031 vehicles worldwide. The results capped off a strong fiscal year for the brand, one that saw it exceed its targets for the period.

All up, Toyota sold 9.51 million vehicles in the business year through to March. It’s the brand’s second highest annual figure in its history, edging its goal to sell 9.4 million vehicles in the period.

The brand’s fiscal year earnings are scheduled to be released on May 11.

The news will come as a relief to some at Toyota, given that the brand endured a tumultuous year punctuated by supply shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the aforementioned earthquake, and a Japanese cyberattack last month.

Toyota’s strong results weren’t reflected by many of its domestic competitors. Nissan recently confirmed it produced 10.7% less vehicles in the last business year than the year prior, and sold 9% less. It was a similar story at Honda, which saw its production drop by 8.6% during the same period.