Japan – The OEM reported record output in April, with 352,161 units made outside Japan and a worldwide total of 403,742, representing an increase of 7.7% and 6.5% respectively compared with the same month last year. However, production within Japan dropped by 0.7% to 51,581, the first decrease since December 2015.
The year-to-date totals were 268,549 for Japan (+12.6%); 1,391,284 outside Japan (+15.1%) and 1,659,833 worldwide (+14.7%). Outside Japan, record production was achieved in North America, Asia and China, with totals for April of 169,843 (+4.4%), 160,198 (+15.6%) and 94,199 (+18.1%) respectively. The year-to-date totals were 681,301 (+10.3%), 618,064 (+26.2%) and 364,299 (+43.4%).
Production dropped by 2.1% to 110,962 in the US, and by 13.3% in Europe to 9,866, giving year-to-date totals of 449,488 (+5.0%) and 41,114 (-12.2%). In other regions, output declined by 15.3% to 12,254, a 7.0% reduction for the year-to-date total of 50,805.