Toyota sales fall for second month in March on Middle East slump, RAV4 model change

Toyota reported a second consecutive monthly decline in global vehicle sales in March, down 7.3% year‑on‑year to 897,871 units, weighing on investor sentiment for Japan’s auto sector and potentially the Japan 225 index. Overseas sales fell 7.2% and domestic sales in Japan dropped 7.8%. Regional weakness was broad: the Middle East plunged nearly a third (about 34,000 units), the U.S. fell 8.5% and China 8.0%. Toyota said steady underlying demand was offset by a production shift from the outgoing RAV4 to a new model. Production nevertheless rose 2.1% in March, led by gains in the U.S. and China, while Japan output slipped. The mix of weaker sales and ongoing production adjustments could pressure Toyota-related stocks and exert modest drag on the Japan 225, though the company’s top‑seller status and rising global production mitigate immediate downside.