Toyota Exports to U.S. Surge Past 1-Million Unit Mark

Toyota Motor Corp.'s vehicle exports to the United States have topped 1 million units for the first time in 20 years.

Exports in the first 10 months of 2006 came to 1,033,545 units, a figure that already surpasses the full-year record of 1,032,642 units set in 1986, according to company figures.

The January-October figure is up 44.1 percent from the same period a year earlier and means that exports from Japan account for about half of Toyota's new-vehicle sales in the world's largest market.

As part of its efforts to prevent a recurrence of the trade friction that dogged the company in the 1980s, Toyota intends to open its eighth assembly plant in North America in 2009, sources said.

The company is in the final stages of picking the construction site, which is expected to be in the Midwestern or the Eastern United States, within 500 kilometers of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., a research and development facility in Erlanger, Kentucky.

Toyota's unit sales in the United States increased 12.2 percent year on year in the January-October period.

For the full year through December, the company is on pace to rank third in U.S. sales, surpassing the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler AG.



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Homer008 - 11/29/2006 1:58:07 PM

+3 Boost

Congrats! Damn good job for Toyota with flooding the shit out of the world with a quality and reliable cars.

Next batters up: LEXUS, INFINITI and ACURA.

These 3 needs to saturate the shit out of the world w/high quality cars just like Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas has done. LOL Good job!

Blow Torch on folks!

99gs400 - 11/30/2006 10:06:45 AM

+3 Boost

GO TOYOTA !!!!!

jon21 - 11/29/2006 2:36:26 PM

+4 Boost

Congrats to Toyota. Great accomplishment.

horta - 11/29/2006 5:06:28 PM

+4 Boost

American will buy a high quailty, well valued car every time. Toyota has learned that. They really drove the nail deep in the Germans when Lexus surpass BMW and Mercedes as the #1 Luxery car brand sold in the US. Why have I had 3 Lexus cars and plan on buying a newer one next year, High quality well valued. Why do I buy a Lexus vrs a Toyota, extra luxery with leather and real wood, phominal customer service during the life of the car, and a V8.

S4cabriofoxone - 11/29/2006 6:03:58 PM

-3 Boost

Nice!

It is interesting to note, though, that they've surpassed a record set in 1986... have they sold more than 1 million cars since then, or is this a first since then? I'm confused.

MercBasher - 11/29/2006 7:38:35 PM

+6 Boost

Easily confused: there is a difference between total sales and sales sourced from Japan. Toyota sales in the US have, of course been growing, but initially there was a decline in the number of vehicles sourced from Japan as Toyota opened plants in the US/Canada. Now the US/Canada plants are running full and [in order to get more cars for sale in the US] Toyota has been sourcing more from Japan.

S4cabriofoxone - 11/29/2006 9:56:47 PM

+1 Boost

Ahah. Thank you.

blueice4589 - 11/29/2006 7:04:20 PM

+3 Boost

Hahaha suckers!! I told you! Didn't I tell you?

sewingmachine - 11/29/2006 7:31:13 PM

+5 Boost

when the hell did they sell over a million 20 years ago. i didnt know that there were that many toyotas way back then.

XYZZ - 12/1/2006 6:36:02 AM

+2 Boost

where the hell were YOU in the past 20 years?

toyota is on track to SELL MORE vehicles THAN GM in JUST a year or two.

you don't think this kind of thing just happens OVERNITE do you?

Ben55 - 11/30/2006 3:29:40 AM

-2 Boost

It makes you wonder where the hell are all of those reliable/durable cars?
POS appliance that people recycle every 5-10 years.

XYZZ - 12/1/2006 6:22:16 AM

+2 Boost

you must be referring to the gm junk.

all the 1980s vintage cars i notice still running, tend to be toyotas, hondas, and subies.

darwinian survival of the fittest works VERY HARSHLY here in alaska.