Toyota said its European new-car sales fell 26 percent to 452,350 in the first half compared with the same period last year. Sales of the carmaker’s Lexus premium brand were hit especially hard by the economic crisis.
Sales of Toyota brand cars dropped 25 percent to 439,184. Lexus sales were down 47 percent to 13,166.
Toyota built 231,800 vehicles, 264,029 engines and 265,621 transmissions at its plants in the U.K., France, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Russia.
Toyota Europe President Tadashi Arashima said sales of subcompacts and minicars such as the Yaris and Aygo have been boosted by scrappage schemes in western European markets.
Source: Automotive News
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