Toyota Group Ranks 3rd in Jan.-Sept. Global Auto Sale

Tokyo, Oct. 30 (Jiji Press)--The Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> group is seen to have ranked third in global vehicle sales in January-September. The leading Japanese automaker said Monday that worldwide sales by the parent and two units--Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. <7205>--totaled 7.75 million units in the first nine months of this year, up 3.0 pct from a year before. Volkswagen AG of Germany has said that it sold 7.8 million vehicles in the period. The alliance of France's Renault SA and Japan's Nissan Motor Co. <7201>, which also includes Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211>, has not released its global sales data for the period. But even if Mitsubishi's overseas sales in September, to be announced in November, prove to have leveled off year on year, January-September sales figures already announced respectively by Renault and Nissan, and those of Mitsubishi would add up to more than 7.79 million units. In the first half of 2017, the Renault-Nissan alliance ranked top in global automobile sales for the first time, after Mitsubishi, which was hit by a fuel economy data falsification scandal, came under the wing of Nissan in October last year. The Toyota group's sales in January-September declined in the Middle and Near East, where demand has been sluggish reflecting falling crude oil prices, but increased in all other areas, including North America and Asia. The Renault-Nissan alliance, which had been previously believed to be a leading contender to be the largest global vehicle seller for the whole of 2017, was hit by the revelation in September that unqualified technicians at Nissan took part in final inspections of finished Nissan vehicles. Nissan fully suspended shipments and registrations of new vehicles in Japan in the second half of October as it came to light that the misconduct continued after the transport ministry issued a warning to the company. Therefore, Nissan's domestic sales in October-December may suffer a decline, and it remains to be seen if the Renault-Nissan alliance will rank top in global automobile sales for 2017. END