Global vehicle production by Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co declined last month because of a prolonged slump in the US auto market amid growing recession fears, data released yesterday showed.
Toyota, Japan’s top automaker, produced 789,224 vehicles last month, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier. It marked the second consecutive month of year-on-year declines.
“Demand in the US market remains stagnant. We are seeing a fall in demand for trucks there,” said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco. He added sluggish demand in Japan also pressured Toyota’s global output.
Earlier, Toyota said its global sales in the July-September quarter fell for the first time in seven years because of faltering demand in the US. The company sold 2.24 million vehicles worldwide during the quarter, down 4 percent from the same period last year. It marked the first year-on-year decline in the July-September period since 2001.
Toyota’s rival Nissan said its global production last month slipped 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 316,082 units.
“The biggest reason for the output decline was cooling demand in the US market,” Nissan spokeswoman Haruko Wada said.
Nissan’s sales in the US dropped 36.8 percent last month, while those by Toyota slumped 32 percent as Americans tightened their purse strings amid the deepening financial crisis.
Nissan said last week it would cut auto production at its two Japanese plants because of falling US sales. Nissan was also laying off 1,680 workers in Spain because of poor demand.
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