Japanese legacy automaker Toyota, through its North American arm, reportedly sold 568,962 units in the US in the second quarter of 2023. Remarkably, that figure represents a year-on-year growth of 7.1%.
| Q2 2023 | Sales | Change YoY | YTD | Sales | Change YoY |
| Toyota | 487,802 | up 5% | Toyota | 889,108 | down 3% |
| Lexus | 81,160 | up 22% | Lexus | 149,412 | up 14% |
| Total | 568,962 | down 7% | Total | 1,038,520 | down 0.7% |
Toyota Motor North America, which includes Toyota and Lexus brands, also enjoyed notable growth in its sales of xEV (HEV, PHEV, BEV, FCEV) and plug-in car models in Q2 2023.
Toyota and Lexus xEVs US sales in Q2 2023
Toyota expanded the number of its electrified vehicle models for US customers to 24, enabling the automaker to also grow its sales. As per the report, Toyota’s xEV sales enjoyed year-on-year growth of 14% to 151,825 in Q2.
This sales growth further raised the automaker’s year-to-date figure to 270,476 xEVs, representing a 1.4% YoY improvement. This YTD result accounted for 26% of the total volume.
Electrified vehicle xEV (HEV, PHEV, BEV, FCEV) sales last quarter:
| xEV | Sales | Change YoY | Share |
| Toyota xEV | 128,034 | up 5% | 26.2% |
| Lexus xEV | 23,791 | up 103% | 29.3% |
| Total xEV | 151,825 | up 14% | 26.7% |
Toyota and Lexus plug-in electric car US sales in Q2 2023
Finally, Toyota’s plug-in car sales grew 27% YoY to 11,458 units, representing 2% of the total volume.
Although this result is not highly remarkable, it still signifies that the legacy automaker has now started to shift toward more sustainable plug-in EVs, particularly battery-powered ones. As you can see in the data provided below, BEVs account for the majority of Toyota’s plug-in car sales in Q2 2023, while plug-in hybrid sales declined by 3%.
Plug-in car sales last quarter:
| Toyota plug-ins | Sales | Change YoY | Share |
| BEVs | 1,961 | up 745% | 0.4% |
| PHEVs | 7,226 | down 6% | 1.5% |
| Total | 9,187 | up 16% | 1.9% |
| Lexus plug-ins | Sales | Change YoY | Share |
| BEVs | 932 | (new) | 1.1% |
| PHEVs | 1,339 | up 21% | 1.6% |
| Total | 2,271 | up 104% | 2.8% |
| Overall plug-ins | Sales | Change YoY | Share |
| BEVs | 2,893 | up 1,147% | 0.5% |
| PHEVs | 8,565 | down 3% | 1.5% |
| Total | 11,458 | up 27% | 2.0% |
These sales improvements in the second quarter propelled the company’s YTD sales to also grow by 19% to 20,710 units, accounting for 2% of the total volume. Of that total, BEVs contributed 4,776 units, up 1,959% YoY. Meanwhile, PHEV sales declined 7% to 15,934.
On the other hand, FCEVs were separately counted from the plug-ins, recording a YoY growth of 27% to 1,722 units. That result is unsurprising, given how Toyota favors FCEVs over all-electric models.
In retrospect, Toyota Motor North America’s plug-in car sales were over 35,000 units in FY 2022, accounting for 1.7% of the overall volume. That figure indicates a notable decline from 52,767 sales in 2021 (2.3% of its volume).
That said, 2023 might be Toyota’s best year for plug-in car sales growth. However, it remains uncertain if Toyota will be able to sustain this upward trend in the quarters to come.
“We continue to focus on customers’ needs with several new and refreshed products in the first half of the year, including the all-new Toyota Crown and the Lexus brand’s first fully electric vehicle, the RZ 450e.
Our teams are working around the clock to get vehicles into customers’ hands, and they can expect even more exciting and electrified products later this year, including the all-new Grand Highlander, Toyota Tacoma, and a new nameplate from Lexus, the TX.”
Jack Hollis, TMNA’s executive VP of sales
Toyota’s top-selling models in Q2 2023
The iconic plug-in hybrid Toyota RAV4 Prime remains the leader of the pack, with sales of 5,554 units in Q2, indicating a YoY growth of 13%.
Toyota’s all-electric model Toyota bZ4X followed with sales of 1,961 units, indicating a YoY increase of a whopping 745%. On the other hand, the new Lexus RZ 450e already sold 932 units in Q2 2023.
Q2 2023 results:
| Models | Sales | Change YoY |
| Toyota bZ4X | 1,961 | up 745% |
| Toyota Prius Prime | 1,672 | down 40% |
| Toyota RAV4 Prime | 5,554 | up 13% |
| Lexus NX 450h+ | 1,339 | up 21% |
| Lexus RZ 450e | 932 | new |
This year to date, the Toyota RAV4 Prime secured the highest sales record of 10,970, up 8% YoY. The Toyota bZ4X continues to trail behind the legacy model with sales of 3,659 units, representing an astounding 1,477% YoY increase.
See Also:
- Toyota leverages US ESG bonds for its electrification efforts
- The reasons why Toyota refuses to abandon the Prius and hybrid cars
- UK advertising watchdog takes action against Toyota and Hyundai for misleading EV ads
- Toyota to launch a manual electric sports car
- The Tesla Way: Toyota turns to US EV-maker for manufacturing expertise
Toyota has long been recognized as a laggard in the electric vehicle industry as it continues to favor hydrogen-fueled models over battery electric ones. In a significant development, the company’s new CEO seems to be now more open towards the idea of all-electric vehicles, formulating strategic plans to catch up in the highly competitive market.
This Q2 2023 sales result signifies Toyota’s gradual shift to EVs, reflecting its renewed focus in the US market, wherein EV adoption is rapidly growing.
Presented below is a table of Toyota’s electrified car sales in the US:
