Toyota's global sales fall 5.6% in January amid chip shortages, COVID-19

Japanese automaker Toyota saw a 5.6% year-on-year decline in global sales in January due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tight supply of semiconductors, according to figures released on Monday.

A total of 709,870 vehicles were worldwide sold in January while domestic sales, including mini-vehicles, jumped 18% to 130,218 units.

Sales outside Japan reached 579,652 vehicles, falling 9.7% from a year earlier.

The company's worldwide production increased for the second month in a row, up 8.8% annually to 689,090 in January.

While domestic production surged 30.1% to 211,572 units last month, overseas output rose 1.4% to 477,518 vehicles.

"The situation remains difficult to predict due to semiconductor shortages and COVID-19. However, we will continue to carefully monitor the parts supply situation and minimize sudden decreases in production as much as possible while making every effort to deliver as many vehicles to our customers at the earliest date," the company said.

Toyota Motor Corporation manufactures vehicles under five brands: Daihatsu, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Toyota.