Toyota April sales fall, led by drops in Asia

STORY: Toyota’s global sales and production in April fell from a year earlier, due to drops in China and Japan.

In China, sales fell 27% and Japan saw a 14% decline.

The results in both regions offset double-digit growth in the United States and Europe.

The sales dip in China’s auto market, the largest in the world, comes as Toyota - and other automakers - remain locked in a fierce price war.

They’re facing huge pressure to shift to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids which are being sold by Chinese brands and are becoming increasingly dominant.

Toyota's Japan sales were hit by a temporary halt to production of the Prius model for quality checks - and a partial halt to production of the plant that makes Noah and Voxy minivans.

Toyota faced fallout from the scandal at small car maker Daihatsu.

The world's top automaker by volume reported a 4.0% drop in global production.

Markets with weaker output included China, Japan, Thailand and Mexico.

Nearly 40% of the vehicles sold by Toyota in April were gasoline-electric hybrids - and only 2% were electric vehicles.

Separate figures for Daihatsu showed its worldwide sales plunged 54% in April.

The automaker’s shares were down in after hours trading.