Toyota's May global sales jump 10% on domestic growth and more supplies

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 10 percent jump in global sales for May from a year earlier, benefiting from growth at home and China as a shortage of semiconductors and other parts eases.

The company sold 838,478 vehicles globally last month, including its luxury car brand Lexus, compared to 761,466 vehicles in May 2022, when sales took a heavy hit from the stuttering parts supply caused by the pandemic.

In Japan, Toyota's sales jumped 35 percent to 116,954 in May, outpacing a 22 percent year-on-year rise in April.

Global sales of hybrids grew 26 percent year-on-year to 261,147, accounting for just under a third of the total number of vehicles sold worldwide last month.

In May, the automaker sold 9,923 battery electric vehicles worldwide, including its Lexus brand, bringing the total number of battery-powered vehicles sold in the first five months of 2023 to 35,980 units.

China sales increased 9.3 percent year-on-year in May to 162,381 vehicles, largely in line with the 162,554 the company sold in the country in April.