Toyota Sales Back in Black

Toyota’s U.S. monthly sales tiptoed into positive territory in November, its first such performance since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan turned the country’s auto industry on its ear.

Toyota deliveries ticked up 2.4% in November, compared with like-2010, on a 14% surge in car demand, according to WardsAuto data.

February marked the auto maker’s last year-over-year gain, a whopping 41.8%.

The core-brand Camry midsize car led the way on volume with 22,170 deliveries in November for a 10.4% hike, while the B-segment Yaris trumped its stablemates on a percentage basis with a 149.8% increase on 5,604 sales.

The auto maker’s gain might have been greater but for an 11% shortfall in Scion car sales and a 9.5% decline on the light-truck side of its business.

Even the high-volume RAV4 cross/utility vehicle took a hit, with November deliveries plunging 11.6% to 11,330 units compared with year-ago.

Through November, Toyota sales totaled 1,466,529 units, lagging prior-year by 7.5%, according to WardsAuto.

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Yaris sales surged 149.8% in November.