Toyota’s sales drop in November, dragged down by China

Toyota Motor Corporation’s sales and production fell in November, weighed down in large part by a sharp drop in China as the country discontinues subsidies meant to boost the sales of electric and fuel-efficient cars.

Global sales — including at subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Limited — fell 1.9% in the period from a year earlier to 965 919 units, the Japanese carmaker said this week. Production shrank 3.4% to 934 001 vehicles.

Read: Toyota braces for $9.5bn hit from US tariff turmoil

Global automakers are facing greater uncertainty as they navigate an environment of trade tensions, regulatory changes and uncertain economic outlooks. Toyota’s results serve as a barometer for the industry’s struggle to balance strong long-term demand with short-term economic and policy headwinds.

Toyota and Lexus brand sales in China fell 12% in November, the company said, citing the end of trade-in subsidies in major cities as funds ran dry.

The figures were released against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions that have been brewing between China and Japan since November, when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks about Taiwan that angered Asia’s biggest economy.

China responded by warning its citizens against traveling to Japan.

Toyota’s production in climbed 15% last month and 9% in the US, but fell 14% in China, 9.7% in Japan and 7.9% in the UK.

The European Union’s decision this month to pull back an effective ban on combustion engines appeared to offer more flexibility to legacy carmakers seeking to mass-produce battery-powered cars.

While Toyota and other Japanese carmakers, which pioneered gas-electric hybrid technology, already had an edge over legacy makers that remain dependent on pure-gasoline cars, the EU’s revision could give Chinese EVs the opening they’ve been waiting for.

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Meanwhile, the company has been in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs as he prepared to level steep tariffs at cars and car parts imported to the US. Earlier this month, Trump said he was paving the way for Asia’s lightweight “kei” cars to be made and sold in the US, even though they currently don’t meet federal safety standards for new vehicles.

More recently, Toyota said it’s going to ship three models produced in American back to Japan, a gesture aimed at accommodating Trump’s wishes.

Honda Motor Co.’s November results were also dragged down by China, as well as the lingering impact of a semiconductor shortage spurred by a political tussle between China and the Dutch over a chipmaker in the Netherlands.

The carmaker’s sales in November fell 15% to 273 681 units; that included a 34% drop in China, where the carmaker has seen declines for 22 straight months. Production in North America fell 61%, the company said, due to an ongoing chip crunch that recently forced it to temporarily close plants in Japan and China over the year-end holidays.

Nissan Motor Co.’s global production fell 4.2% to 257 008 units during the same month, but grew 22% in China thanks to the popularity of a few EVs it released there earlier this year, including the N6 and N7. Sales fell 4.9% globally in November.

© 2025 Bloomberg

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