U.S. auto sales recovery continues as Toyota posts lowest decline this year

U.S. new vehicle sales in July continued to show indications of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, as Toyota Motor on Monday published its lowest sales reduction since the coronavirus crisis damaged the sector in mid-March.

The Japanese automaker informed that its sales in July fell 19% versus the same month in 2019, to 169,484 units. That was Toyota’s best month since before the coronavirus shuttered North American production for two months and led to shutting down showrooms across numerous U.S. states.

The recovery in U.S. auto sales since hitting a bottom in April has observed major automakers scramble to boost production and boost weak inventories at dealerships, particularly in states where they remained open during the shutdowns.

The recovery in sales, though, could be threatened by increasing cases of coronavirus in some U.S. states, which raised uncertainty over the U.S. economic recovery.

Hyundai Motor reported a moderate year-on-year 0.6% gain in U.S. sales for July, selling 57,677 units.

“Achieving an overall sales increase despite the ongoing pandemic is a tremendous accomplishment and speaks to the depth and quality of our product lineup and resiliency of our dealers,” said Randy Parker, Hyundai’s North American sales chief.