TOKYO — Toyota Motor said on Tuesday its global vehicle sales and production fell for a second straight month in August, as declines in China, the United States and the Middle East persisted after dragging down results in the prior month.
The world’s biggest automaker saw global sales fall 6.4 percent from a year earlier to 790,743 vehicles and production drop 5.9 percent to 700,860 vehicles.
A 22.8-percent plunge in China dragged sales down for a seventh consecutive month, as higher petrol prices weighed on demand for hybrid and traditional combustion-engine vehicles.
Sales in the US, Toyota’s top market, fell 4.4 percent, while those in the Middle East slumped 37.5 percent, offsetting a 9.1-percent rise in Japan.
Production was pulled down by an 11.3-percent drop in China and a 6.6-percent decline in the US. Output in Japan fell 1.7 percent, in part due to the impact of production suspensions following an earthquake on the southern island of Kyushu.
Toyota’s figures include its luxury Lexus brand.
