Toyota Sales Up 4.7%, Lexus Sales Up 8% For January

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported best-ever January sales of 175,850 vehicles, an increase of 5.1 percent over January 2006.

The Toyota Division posted best-ever January sales of 153,732, up 4.7 percent. The Lexus Division reported best-ever January sales of 22,118 units sold, an increase of 8 percent.

Toyota Division
Toyota Division passenger cars recorded best-ever January sales of 86,682, up 7.2 percent over the same period last year. Passenger car sales were led by Camry, which posted January sales of 31,461, up 10.1 percent over the same period last year. Camry Hybrid reported sales of 2,801 units in January. The Prius gas-electric hybrid mid-size sedan posted best-ever January sales of 8,299, an increase of 4.1 percent. The Yaris subcompact posted sales totaling 5,870 units for the month. Corolla reported January sales of 25,519.

Toyota Division light truck sales were up 1.6 percent, with a best-ever January total of 67,050 units. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), which reported best-ever January sales of 11,925, up 22 percent over the same period last year. The Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined January sales of 10,322, up 13.3 percent over the same period last year. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported sales of 1,810 units for the month. FJ Cruiser reported January sales of 4,948 units.

Scion reported January sales of 9,004 units. The tC sports coupe led the way with January sales of 4,413 units. Scion xB posted sales of 2,833 units for the month.

Lexus Division
Lexus passenger cars reported best-ever January sales of 13,574 units, an increase of 18.7 percent over January 2006. Passenger car sales were led by the ES 350 luxury sedan with best-ever January sales of 5,320 units, up 53.2 percent. The all-new LS 460 reported sales of 3,006, an increase of 142.5 percent.

Lexus Division light trucks reported January sales totaling 8,544 units. The RX 350 and RX 400h enjoyed combined January sales of 6,544 units, an increase of 1.5 percent. The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,245 units for the month.

In January, TMS posted sales of 14,322 hybrid vehicles. There were 25 selling days this sales month compared to 24 selling days last January.

flozel1 - 2/1/2007 3:34:04 PM

+1 Boost

Just another day at the office.

1970toyotamarc - 2/1/2007 3:46:45 PM

+7 Boost

I love the beginning of the month.

Prius sales up, hybrid versions of Highlander, RX and Camry still going strong. What happened to the impending crash of hybrid sales that the autospies forecasters of doom have been predicting for months?
What else....3000 LS sedans. Cant wait to compare that to the 7 or S. and Camry up, despite the relentless rants of blandness. When are these supposedly more exciting sedans going to start posting some huge numbers. Ford sold a zillion Tauri, why cant the Fusion come close to the Camry?

I'll have more to say as the other mfrs' reports come out. And then I'll just sit back for the next month and hear about smugness, sludge, recalls, blandness, kool-aid, eco-Nazis, and all the rest of the nonsense. Until March 1st, when all will be good again.

XYZZ - 2/2/2007 3:36:39 AM

+3 Boost

while the boring LS sold ONLY 150% more units.

up 142% over last year.

i wonder how the S sales compare to a year ago...

MercBasher - 2/1/2007 3:55:00 PM

+3 Boost

Wow the Prius alone sold more than all Audi cars and SUVs combined in January.

Agent009 - 2/1/2007 4:04:28 PM

+1 Boost

That may be the difference between mass market and premium. You tend to sell more mass market items.

XYZZ - 2/2/2007 3:38:33 AM

+2 Boost

aren't people paying for a "hybrid PREMIUM?" lol

MercBasher - 2/1/2007 4:08:53 PM

+5 Boost

First time I have heard anyone call the Prius "mass market". That's a tremendous compliment for this niche vehicle, and reflects how well Toyota does marketing and customer satisfaction as opposed to Audi who are also-rans in the US middle market.

PlanoA4 - 2/1/2007 4:35:45 PM

-4 Boost

Prius is not really a niche anymore. Hybrids have successfully stepped into the mainstream.

JUGNU - 2/1/2007 4:25:47 PM

+4 Boost

Vey well said Mercbasher.

Just imagine the sales when the new Corolla,Land cruiser,prado...etc will debut this year.

Good luck Toyota.

JUGNU

S4cabriofoxone - 2/1/2007 4:54:51 PM

-1 Boost

Nice. They deserve it.

trd1 - 2/1/2007 5:54:01 PM

+4 Boost

good job, keep it up till you reach the top.

pchera01 - 2/1/2007 7:34:20 PM

+3 Boost

wow, how long they can do this???

XYZZ - 2/2/2007 9:31:44 AM

+5 Boost

my 1st thot reaction, AS LONG AS the no-longer-big 2.5 continue losing market share.

2d thot: even when/if the 2.5 come down to zero, toyota and lexus can STILL increase sales, for 2 reasons. 1) they can buy closed 2.5 plants and build more cars (more efficiently too). AND build more plants.
2) not having wasted as much money on repairs and depreciation, all the FORMER domestic buyers will have MORE MONEY and can buy/trade MORE OFTEN.

(i can already anticipate all the de-boosts! let's see how low we'll go!)

S4cabriofoxone - 2/1/2007 10:48:48 PM

0 Boost

Wait, I'm confused. I know Lexus is #1, but how? Didn't Mercedes sell about 20K cars this month, as opposed to Lexus's 13K?

This seems like a slow month for all but Mercedes. Audi sold less than half of what they did last month, and Lexus usually sells over 20K units.

louisvuittondon - 2/2/2007 2:27:25 AM

+4 Boost

S4 you didnt read the whole thing did you? They divided the cars and truck sales up.

no1listensanyway - 2/2/2007 6:14:36 PM

-4 Boost

They will reach the top, but they won't stay there long.

XYZZ - 2/4/2007 4:21:15 AM

+4 Boost

ignoring FACTS only reveals your own ignorance.

toyota was slowly but steadily gaining market share for YEARS. gas prices merely ACCELERATED the growth.

the domestics STOPPED being COMPETITIVE since the 1980s. except in gas hog pickups.

XYZZ - 2/4/2007 4:24:57 AM

+4 Boost

as for "cheap cars," you must be referring to DETROIT's offerings!

considering competing models and CONTENT, THOSE are the cheapos. while toyotas command a premium. which people WILLING PAY (as proven by sales figures), recognizing the superior quality and engineering.

XYZZ - 2/6/2007 2:08:16 AM

+2 Boost

the vast majority of toyota recalls were preventative: mere INSPECTIONS to catch POTENTIAL problems.

of the hundreds of thousands of inspections, how many actual cars NEEDED fixes? probably no more than a few hundred. INCLUDING the "sludged" engines, which has occurred in ALL makes where owners were lax on maintenance.

as one myself, i suspect many toyota owners get spoiled for low maintenance reliability, and even sometimes actually NEGLECT maintenance. not to say other owners feel and do the same. but toyotas are INHERENTLY tougher, and SURVIVE poor or no maintenance FAR BETTER.

look at the vehicles in 3rd world countries you see on the news, in films and documentaries. toyotas (and other japanese makes) seem most popular/common.

how many ford f-150s do you see overseas?

jon21 - 2/5/2007 12:27:02 AM

+4 Boost

ford lost $12.0 BILLIONS in 2006.
My prediction for 2007...another $10.0 BILLION lost.

ford= fail on race day
ford= ford on road dead

ford 2nd or 3rd loser in 2006?

ford sucks as usual...nothing new there.

XYZZ - 2/6/2007 2:23:06 AM

+2 Boost

proven WHERE?

while it's true buick is one of best domestics (outlasting even cadillacs!), it still falls far short of toyota.

and here is the documented PROOF: look at ANY CR "Frequency of Repair" set of charts. this year's, last year's, from 20 years ago, whenever.

EIGHT YEAR OLD toyotas remain more reliable and trouble free than ANY domestic (including buick) a mere 3 years old! (hmm. is it JUST coincidence most cars have ONLY 3 year warranties?)

on average, those old toyotas are even better than audis, bmws, and benzes ONLY just 2 years old! and this includes ALL toyota models, even the cheapest.

XYZZ - 2/6/2007 2:39:49 AM

+2 Boost

last time i was in hawaii, i did notice an occasional disabled toyota on the freeways. and buicks too.

but i just about NEVER saw dead toyotas on the surface streets. where you saw dead cars of EVERY OTHER BRAND.

what i figured was happening: hawaii is one of the most benign environments for sickly cars. most people are able to limp home. (and to work too!) (daily. even weekly!)

but on the freeways, what survives on the low speed streets DO TEND to expire.

apparently, drivers of sickly toyotas and buicks still HAVE THE CONFIDENCE to brave freeways. other owners don't even ATTEMPT that.

so in hawaii, the freeways are where old, sick toyotas and buicks GO TO DIE! ;)

XYZZ - 2/7/2007 3:35:59 AM

+1 Boost

the documented proof, AS I SAID, are in the DOZENS of Consumer Reports "Frequency of Repair" charts. going as far back as you can find back issues for.

these DOCUMENT the fact that EIGHT YEAR OLD toyotas remain more reliable and trouble free than ANY domestic (including buick) a mere 3 years old!

just COUNT the number of "black dots" which denote problem areas. you will see more of 'em on the charts for domestics at 3, 4, 5 years of age. you'll also see more for euro brands as little as 2 years of age.

you will hardly see ANY on any toyota or lexus chart. the VERY few you see, tend to be just 1/2 (vs. full) black. and on toyota products with a number of years on 'em.

XYZZ - 2/7/2007 3:48:32 AM

+1 Boost

further, unlike most of their competitors, you will just about never see the ENGINE as a trouble spot with toyotas.

the few black marks they get, tend to be in non-critical areas like body integrity/hardware. a problem for ALL cars as they age. suspensions SEEM a problem sometimes; it's mostly just shocks due for replacement (as suggested by the fact these are most prominent on the softly sprung Avalon.)

while it should NOT be a problem in this day and age, a lot of the lesser brands still have black dots on ENGINES, trannys, cooling and electrical systems, etc. and power eqpt.

GM's 100k warranty is a MOVE OF DESPERATION, to ASSURE potential buyers that if/when the car does NOT make it to 100,000 (a GIVEN normally, nowadays), gm will pick up the tab.

Hyundai also started 100k warranties to TURN AROUND peoples' impression their cars don't hold up.

and, those warranties in themselves are NOT guarantees the engines are that good. they merely mean the company will pick up repair tabs.

toyota buyers seem NOT TO CARE their warranties are much shorter. they've EXPERIENCED toyota longevity to 100, 200, even 300k miles.

XYZZ - 2/8/2007 3:26:51 AM

+1 Boost

guess we've seen the last of LightningSVT. even his sometimes AMUSING posts are gone!