Toyota U.S. Sales In July Up 17% - Update

(RTTNews) - Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., a division of Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Thursday said its U.S. vehicle sales in July rose 17 percent, led by strong demand for cars and trucks amid an improving economy and consumer confidence.

Toyota said its U.S. July sales rose 17.3 percent to 193,394 units from 164,898 units last year. The month had 25 selling days against 24 days last year. July sales increased 12.6 percent on a daily selling rate basis.

At its namesake Toyota division, sales rose 16.2 percent to 170,363 units from 146,663 units, while sales at Lexus segment climbed 26.3 percent to 23,031 units from 18,235 units last year.

Toyota's car sales improved due mainly to strong demand from consumers for Toyota Prius, Camry, Avalon, and Yaris. Car sales at Toyota division surged 20.1 percent to 96,126 units, as Prius sales soared 40 percent and Camry rose 16.3 percent. Meanwhile, new model Avalon posted a strong growth of 229.5 percent.

Lexus car division sales surged 37.5 percent to 13,421 units, as IS, ES and LS sedans grew 58.6 percent, 62.0 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively.

"Solid industry sales in July point to a stable market indicating a recovering economy. Consumer confidence also maintained elevated levels as evidenced by strong retail sales." said Bill Fay, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Division.

Truck sales at Toyota division advanced 11.5 percent to 74,237 units, with the help of strong sales of pickup trucks Tacoma, and crossover FJ Cruiser and RAV4.

Lexus truck sales climbed 13.4 percent to 9,610 units, reflecting sales of crossover SUV Lexus RX and GX.

TM is currently trading at $126.46, up $4.56 or 3.74%, on a volume of 0.5 million shares, on the NYSE.