Toyota is world-renown for producing highly efficient and reliable vehicles, but that sterling image wasn’t enough to protect the Japanese automaker from the quarter that was July-September. During that timeframe, Toyota saw is global sales slip 4 percent, resulting in the company’s first quarterly sales decrease since 1999.
Toyota recorded sales decreases across the globe during its fiscal second quarter, but the company’s U.S. operations are largely responsible for the 4 percent drop. Toyota’s U.S. sales collapsed in September — posting a sharp 32.3 percent decrease – with overall U.S. sales down 10.4 percent this year.
Toyota recently launched a zero-percent financing campaign in the U.S., intended to help rally slumping sales.
Despite the quarterly drop, Toyota’s sales are actually ahead for the year, but just barely. Through the first nine months of the year, Toyota’s sales are up by a mere 2,000 units, totaling 7.051 million vehicles, according to Automotive News.
