©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man walks past the Toyota logo at the Tokyo Motor Show, in Tokyo, Japan, October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Toyota Motor (NYSE:) said Wednesday that global vehicle production rose 7% in January, marking a year-over-year increase for the 13th consecutive month as the automaker benefited from strong U.S. demand.
January production increased to 740,332 vehicles, while worldwide sales rose about 11% from a year earlier as growth in overseas markets such as the United States offset declining sales in Japan. Both figures include the luxury brand Lexus.
U.S. sales for the month rose 23% while sales in Europe rose 2%, offsetting a steep 14% decline in domestic sales.
While sales in China rose 39%, the increase was partly due to dealers selling cars on more days than last year due to calendar changes related to Chinese New Year. Toyota said competition in China continued to intensify.
Nearly two-fifths of vehicles sold by the world’s largest automaker by volume in January were gasoline-electric hybrids.