Toyota sales slide for third month on Middle East conflict

[TOKYO] Toyota Motor’s global sales posted their third straight month of year-on-year declines, as disruptions due to the Middle East conflict ripple across its business, with exports to the region down by more than 90 per cent.

Global sales in April, including those of subsidiary Daihatsu Motor, fell 3.7 per cent from the year before to 902,015 units, the company said on Thursday (May 28). Production, however, rose 3.4 per cent to 933,685 units.

Toyota has weathered the conflict better than other carmakers, keeping factories running despite disrupted routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

A longer squeeze fuelling shortages would test that resilience, exposing how deeply global carmakers rely on Gulf-linked supplies for parts, materials and energy.

While demand remains strong, with customers waiting months for some models in major markets, Toyota’s sales also fell compared to 2025, when they were bolstered by a buying rush ahead of tariffs and the roll-out of a new RAV4 SUV model. 

Sales in China, where market conditions remain challenging for Japanese carmakers, shrank 25 per cent.

Honda Motor’s global sales in April fell 7.9 per cent to 265,215 units, while output was mostly flat globally. Nissan Motor said on May 22 that its sales shrank 7.6 per cent to 208,663 units.

Toyota’s exports to the Middle East slumped 92 per cent year on year to 2,418 vehicles.

At the company’s earnings announcement in May, accounting chief Takanori Azuma said that the manufacturer exports roughly 500,000 to 600,000 vehicles annually to the Middle East, and that it was assuming slightly less than half of that volume would be affected.

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At the time, it forecast a surprise drop in profit for the fiscal year until March 2027, as it braces for higher raw material costs due to disruptions caused by the war in Iran.

The outlook for three trillion yen (S$24 billion) in operating income fell short of analyst estimates, as well as the 3.8 trillion yen posted in the prior 12-month period.

Toyota’s suppliers had warned that they were beginning to see shortages due to the Iran conflict. The carmaker said it would be difficult to offset the resulting 670 billion yen hit to its bottom line from the regional turmoil.

On Monday, the Nikkei reported that Toyota planned to increase production cuts overseas to around 83,000 units, due to logistical problems caused by regional tensions. BLOOMBERG