Toyota Sales Flat in March, Dip in Q1

Toyota sold 214,947 vehicles in the U.S. last month, an increase of just 0.1% on a daily-selling-rate basis.

The No.1 Japanese automaker reports its first-quarter 2019 sales dipped 5.0% in volume.

Declining car sales and weak RAV4 results were factors in both the March and quarterly losses.

Together, Lexus and Toyota cars declined 10.2% on a DSR basis in March. For the quarter, they were down 10.1% on a volume basis from Q1 2018.

The Toyota Div. saw the bigger loss in cars, off 11.0% in March compared with Lexus’ 2.1% dip.

All of Toyota’s high-volume cars fell in March, including the Corolla sedan, sliding 23.4% on a DSR basis.

Toyota’s RAV4 midsize CUV continued to slump, slipping 1.6% on a DSR basis in March. Its volume was down 8.4% in the quarter.

The Camry midsize sedan edged out the RAV4 as Toyota’s top-selling model for the second month in a row. There were 33,615 Camrys sold last month vs. 33,166 RAV4s.

A new-generation RAV4 went on sale in Q1, but Toyota has yet to deliver any next-gen RAV4 hybrids, Jack Hollis, group vice president-Toyota Div. for Toyota Motor North America, tells media during a conference call to discuss sales. RAV4 hybrid sales were down 10.4% in March, Toyota says.

“It’s all based around inventory…we’re at about a third less than (the full inventory RAV4 had a year ago) right now,” he says. “And we basically have not wholesaled any hybrids whatsoever…our gas number is almost identical to last year.”

Hollis says Toyota is pleased with sales of the non-hybrid RAV4 and boasts, “By the end of the year you’re going to see us back on top of the whole segment anyway.” The RAV4 was the No.1-selling midsize CUV in the U.S. in 2018, with 427,170 sales, Wards Intelligence data shows.

Another Toyota model also seeing a sales slowdown as a new generation launches is the Corolla sedan, sliding 23.4% on a DSR basis in March.

Toyota’s Prius hybrid and Avalon large sedan continue to struggle in 2019, falling 31.8% and 27.2%, respectively, in March. Both also suffered hefty declines in the first quarter on a volume basis.

Low-volume Toyota cars the Yaris sedan, Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle and the Corolla hatchback, which was all-new last year, posted increases ranging from 3.6% to 120.0% last month.

Lexus’ low-volume RC coupe and high-volume ES sedan posted DSR increases last month of 61.5% and 29.6%.

On the light-truck side, the RAV4’s dip was unusual among Toyota’s utilities and pickups, as nearly all nameplates posted gains in March, with the group collectively rising 5.2% on a DSR basis.

The Land Cruiser large SUV enjoyed the biggest gain (25.8%) while the Sienna minivan, which has seen weakness this year, posted a 14.6% hike.

Despite the good results in March, Toyota’s light-truck volume was down 2.7% in Q1 due to RAV4 and Sienna losses.

Lexus’ utility sales rose 7.1% on a DSR basis in March, but were down 1.5% in volume in Q1.

Besides the NX midsize CUV, which posted a slight decline, Lexus utilities were in positive territory last month, with the new UX small CUV tallying 1,776 units.

Hollis says Toyota continues to target a 16.6-16.8 million seasonally adjusted annual rate for 2019 absent any trade or border issues. He says Toyota is “urging all parties involved to continue to avert any kind of border closing” that would cause significant disruptions to the North American auto industry and negatively impact the entire U.S. economy.

In related news, he notes Toyota’s updated Tacoma pickup assembly plant in Baja California, Mexico, should achieve full production speed by the end of summer.

Meanwhile, Honda posted an 8.2% DSR increase in March and was up 2.0% in volume for the quarter, with both Honda and Acura brands rising in those periods.

Strong for Honda in March and the quarter was the Accord midsize sedan, redesigned in 2017; the Civic compact posted an increase in March but dipped in Q1.

The Honda Fit subcompact car, Odyssey minivan and Pilot large CUV saw declining results in March and the quarter.

At Acura, the new RDX midsize CUV continues to chug along with another month in positive territory. The RDX racked up a 37.6% DSR increase in March and 34.6% volume jump in Q1. Its 5,835 sales last month set a March record and made it Acura’s highest-volume model.

Nissan continues to struggle this year, partially a result of pulling back on its fleet business. The automaker saw March sales fall 3.8% on a DSR basis and Q1 volume declined 12.1%.

Nissan and Infiniti brands posted losses for the month and quarter on the car and light-truck side.

Sales of Nissan’s best-selling model, the Rogue midsize CUV, fell 11.9% last month and 19.4% in Q1.

Nissan’s Pathfinder large CUV posted a 12.2% gain in March and sales of the new Altima sedan also grew, up 1.8%.

Infiniti was down 20.2% overall in March and saw all models slip. Barring the QX60 CUV and QX80 SUV, all of the luxury brand’s models also were in the red for the quarter.