Toyota remains world's top-selling automaker; chairman apologises over scandals (updated)

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30/01/2024 07:05

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      Keeps top automaker crown for 4th year, beating Volkswagen
    

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      Chairman Akio Toyoda apologises for problems at units,
affiliate
    

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      Toyoda lays out Toyota group vision for employees
    

  
 (Recasts on chairman apologising over scandals, writes through)
    By Daniel Leussink
       TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor  7203.T  retained
its crown as the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth
consecutive year after posting record annual sales of 11.2
million in 2023, though its chairman apologised on Tuesday for
scandals at three group companies. 
        The Japanese automaker reported a 7.2% jump in global
group sales last year, including those at small-car maker
Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors  7205.T .
    Those two subsidiaries and affiliate Toyota Industries
 6201.T  have been beset by governance issues involving
certification test procedures for cars and engines that could
potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and
safety.
    "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our
customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern
caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu
and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told
reporters at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group
founded by his great-grandfather that now includes 17 companies.
    One of the five attitudes laid out for employees to focus on
was: "Be honest and make things in a right way."
    The company said the event, originally planned for Feb. 14,
the birthday of its late founder Sakichi Toyoda, was brought
forward in light of recent irregularities at Toyota's group
companies.
        
  
    STRONG SALES
    Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million
vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the
COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector.
        Second-ranked German rival Volkswagen Group  VOWG_p.DE 
this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2
million cars, marking a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain
bottlenecks eased.
    Tuesday's data showed sales of Toyota's parent-only
vehicles, which include those of its namesake and Lexus brands,
hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023.
    Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%.
    Toyota, however, risks a slowdown in the group's sales
momentum after Daihatsu last month suspended shipments of all
its cars after a safety scandal investigation found issues
involving 64 models, including almost two dozen sold under
Toyota's brand.
    Daihatsu said on Tuesday its global production slumped 25%
to 121,000 vehicles in December and its worldwide sales were
down about 8% that month. Japan's transport ministry lifted a
ban on shipments of 10 Daihatsu-made cars earlier in the day.
        On Monday, Toyota disclosed it was suspending shipments
of some Toyota models including the Hilux truck and Land Cruiser
300 SUV after an independent panel uncovered wrongdoing in tests
for diesel engines developed by supplier Toyota Industries.
    In 2022, another committee tasked with investigating an
emissions scandal at Hino Motors found the truck unit had
falsified engine emissions data going back to 2003.

 (Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and
Jamie Freed)
 ((daniel.leussink@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@danielleussink;))