Toyota Motor has bucked the trend and clocked healthy growth in August as it car sales jumped by 35 per cent compared to the same month last year. The Japanese auto giant recorded growth in sales through its popular SUVs and MPVs like the Urban Cruiser HyRyder and Innova HyCross during this period. Toyota sold 30,879 cars last month, up from just 22,910 units it sold in August last year. The carmaker has also revealed how rebadged Maruti cars like Glanza, Rumion and the recently-launched Urban Cruiser Taisor have contributed immensely in Toyota's sales bump in recent months.

Despite recording year-on-year growth, Toyota Motor saw its sales dip marginally compared to July this year when it sold 31,656 units of passenger vehicles which, it said, was the best ever in terms of monthly sales for the Japanese auto giant since it entered India. Toyota Motor has so far sold more than 2.12 lakh cars in the country since the start of the year. Between April and July this year, the carmaker has sold 97,867 units at a growth rate of 35 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

As most of the auto industry is witnessing an overall dip in demand, Toyota Motor feels the festive season could help turn around the situation. "As we approach the festive season, demand for our products remains buoyant, and we are already witnessing increased consumer interest and higher footfall across all our dealerships," said Sabari Manohar, Vice-President of Sales-Service-Used Car Business at Toyota Motor. He also said that SUVs and MPVs in its lineup are driving up sales as tier-2 and tier-3 markets are also preferring these two types of models.

The Innova HyCross hybrid MPV has with highest demand among all other Toyota models sold in the country, especially the strong hybrid variant. After keeping on hold for a few months this year, Toyota reopened the bookings for the ZX and ZX (O) variants with self-charging strong hybrid electric powertrain. Manohar said, “With streamlined production and an enhanced supply chain, we've successfully reduced the waiting period, allowing us to commence bookings for the top-end grades. Additionally, increased supply of Urban Cruiser Hyryder has also enabled us to meet the market demand leading to reduced waiting period."

Half of Toyota's sales in Q1 was thanks to Maruti cars

Toyota has also seen surge in sales of its Maruti rebadged models in the last quarter. The carmaker said that models like the Urban Cruiser HyRyder, Urban Cruiser Taisor, Glanza and Rumion contributed more than 50 per cent of its overall sales between April and July. Glanza and Urban Cruiser HyRyder remain two of the best-selling models among these four.

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