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Toyota Car Sales Continue to Rise in July

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Toyota Motor North America reported July sales of 209,204 vehicles, up 0.2 percent over July 2018. Toyota division sales were up 0.4 percent while Lexus division sales were down 1.5 percent.

More notably, Toyota car sales were up 5.1 percent on a volume basis while Toyota truck and SUV sales were down 2.2 percent, which mirrors the automaker’s sales performance from the previous month and might be indicating a trend reversal.

In the last few years we’ve typically seen truck and SUV sales surge as car sales have declined, and Toyota’s sales distribution has largely correlated with that of the industry — but the Japanese automaker has now experienced the opposite of the typical trend for two consecutive months. Is that just a blip in the pattern or the sign of more lasting change?


Related: Get to know the Toyota SUV lineup

Corolla sales were up 14.5 percent, Camry sales up 3.1 percent, and Avalon sales up 5.1 percent. The Prius Prime plug-in hybrid was up 18 percent to score a best-ever month and hybrid sales overall were up a whopping 46.6 percent, which is especially notable because like car sales, hybrid vehicle sales had also been on the decline for some time.

Still, some Toyota SUVs continued to do quite well, the Highlander and RAV4 Hybrid both experiencing their best-ever July with big gains. The Sequoia and Land Cruiser were up 14.8 and 31.7 percent as well, respectively.

Overall sales have stagnated in recent months, but where those sales comes from certainly seems to be shifting. This should probably not be surprising as gas prices rise and the threat of another recession looms on the horizon.


Related: Learn more about Toyota SafetySense