Japanese automakers, including the world’s largest carmaker by sales, are still struggling to compete in the competitive Chinese market.
Toyota Motor Co. on Thursday reported a global sales decrease of 0.5% in April, led by a 27% sales slump in China and a 14% fall in Japan. Toyota’s poor performance at home comes as Japan’s market struggles through a decline that began after a wide-ranging scandal in December at Daihatsu Motor Co.
Toyota’s sales in China, the world’s largest auto market, were down more than 9% between January and April compared to the same time period in 2023.
That decline comes despite a series of promotional events in the market, which also includes Hong Kong and Macau, Toyota said. The automaker cited “severe market conditions” as the primary driver behind its performance, including “intensifying price competition.”
Automakers have been embroiled in a months-long price war in China as domestic companies continue to pump out cheap models and slash prices on hot-ticket items, including electric vehicles. BYD, for example, sells some vehicles for as low as $10,000.
Several Chinese carmakers are also developing cars with rivals in mind. Xioami, Chery, and Li Auto have all marketed — and priced — recent models to compete directly with Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y EVs.
Japan’s automakers are also facing immense pressure from the market to produce new fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Many, including Toyota, have been criticized for taking a slower approach to electrification and relying on tried-and-true hybrid vehicles.
Just 2% of Toyota’s sales last month were EVs, while almost 40% were gasoline-electric hybrids. However, sales of electrified vehicles — which includes both hybrid and electric variants — grew 28% last month.
Subaru, which Toyota owns a minority stake in, said global exports declined by almost 27% to 31,871 vehicles. Sales at home sank by 16%.
Nissan on Thursday said its sales in China dropped by more than 10% to 55,921 vehicles as global sales tanked by almost 6% in April. Domestic sales declined by 14.8% year-over-year, despite strong growth in Mexico’s market. The carmaker last month reported a 92% increase in profits for its fiscal 2023, buoyed by strong sales in every market except China.
Honda Motor Co. — which is exploring an EV-based partnership with Nissan as both companies consider cutting production in China — said Thursday that global exports grew by more than 100% in April. Honda does not break out its sales data by country, although it did report a 99% increase in exports to Asia as a whole.
Mazda broke from the trend, reporting a 19% increase in sales in the Chinese market. However, that strong performance was undercut by an abysmal month at home; Mazda recorded a 31% decrease in domestic sales for April. Global sales overall climbed by 1.4%.
