TOKYO: Japanese automaker Toyota Motor said on Friday it sold 5.1% more vehicles in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period a year earlier, helped by an easing of semiconductor supply constraints and especially stronger demand in Japan.

The company sold some 4.9 million vehicles globally in the six months through June, including of its luxury Lexus brand, compared with about 4.7 million vehicles during the same period in 2022.

Toyota’s sales in Japan jumped 33.2% to 878,215 units in the period versus a year earlier, while US sales slipped 0.7% to just over 1 million vehicles and those in Asia declined half a percent to about 1.5 million units.

In the month of June, global sales rose 10% to 898,947 units, benefitting from growing demand, including for electrified vehicles such as hybrids, in key markets such as the United States and Europe.

China sales in June posted their first monthly decline in three months, falling 12.8% year-on-year to 174,548 vehicles.

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China sales were down 2.8% for January-June. Global sales of hybrid electric vehicles grew 37.6% year-on-year to 292,131 units, accounting for just under a third of the total number of vehicles sold worldwide last month.

In June, Toyota sold 10,191 battery electric vehicles worldwide, including its Lexus brand, bringing the total number of battery-powered vehicles sold in the first half of 2023 to 46,171 units.