Toyota on course for growth in Europe

Toyota remains on course for growth in Europe. In the first quarter, the Japanese group sold a total of 319,737 vehicles across Europe with its Toyota and Lexus brands, an increase of ten percent compared to the same period last year. The market share increased by 0.2 points to 7.3 percent in the first three months of the year.

The Toyota brand alone sold a total of 300,577 vehicles across Europe in the first quarter, an increase of eight percent and second place among the best-selling passenger car brands in Europe. Electrified models accounted for 71 percent or 211,737 units of this figure, with sales increasing by seven percent. Pure electric cars recorded even stronger growth with an increase of 39 percent to 10,229 units. The Yaris and its SUV counterpart Yaris Cross, the Corolla and the new C-HR were among the bestsellers across Europe.

With a total of 40,852 units, the Toyota Professional commercial vehicle division also improved by 22 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The best-selling model here was the Hilux pick-up with 16,783 units, followed by the Proace City (15,881 units) and Proace (8,100 units) vans.

Lexus also made gains. With 19,160 vehicles sold and an increase of 48 percent, the luxury subsidiary was once again one of the fastest growing premium brands in Europe. The NX, which sold 7,186 units, made the biggest jump of 47 percent. The top 3 is completed by the RX with 3,684 units and the UX with 3,520 units. The all-electric RZ 450e sold 960 units in the first three months. And 950 orders have been placed in Germany for the new Lexus LBX, the brand's smallest model to date. (aum)