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TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday its global sales fell 96,000 units, or more than four percent, to 2.236 million vehicles in the quarter to September, the first quarterly drop in seven years.
The year-on-year decline, which was confirmed by a company spokeswoman, includes group affiliates Daihatsu and Hino.
Toyota has enjoyed strong sales and profits in recent years thanks to strong demand in its fuel-efficient vehicles.
But the intensifying global financial crisis has put people off buying cars, particularly in the United States where the economy is ailing.
In July Toyota downgraded its global sales estimate for 2008 by 350,000 units to about 9.5 million vehicles.
Toyota, vying with Detroit giant General Motors for the title of the world's top-selling automaker, may post its first ever operating loss in North America in the six months to September as demand slumps, reports said Friday.
Japan's Jiji Press said Toyota would post an operating loss of several hundred million dollars in the first half of the financial year for North America, which would be its first since entering the market in the 1980s.
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