Toyota US Hit by 41.9% Decrease

Toyota posted Friday a decrease of 41.9 percent compared to April, 2008, with total sales amounting to 126,540 vehicles. As a result of this “glowing performance”, Ford managed to outsell Toyota for the first time in the last year.

Let's take a closer look at what caused Toyota to go down so abruptly.

According to the press release, Toyota Division passenger cars recorded April sales of 70,662 units, down 41.6 percent from the same period last year. Camry and Camry Hybrid remained Toyota’s volume leader in April, posting combined monthly sales of 25,324 units. Corolla recorded sales of 18,534 units. Yaris reported sales of 8,118 units for the month. The Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid posted April sales of 8,385 units.

The company's light trucks were no better either as the April sales amounted to 41,683 units, down 43.1 percent from the year-ago month. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV with sales of 11,126 units. The Tacoma mid-size pickup reported sales of 9,027 units for the month. The Tundra full-size pickup recorded April sales of 6,156 units. Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined sales of 5,595 units.

Scion posted April sales of 4,442 units. The xB urban utility vehicle led the way with sales of 2,036 units. The tC sports coupe recorded sales of 1,526 units, while the xD reported sales of 880 units for the month.

The company's luxury division also recorded a severe decrease of 47.8 percent in passenger car sales from April 2008, while the light truck sales were down 26.9 percent.