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Workers are shown on the production line at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas Inc. plant in San Antonio, where the company builds the full-size Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV. Sales for the gas-powered Tundra fell 10.5% in March, while its hybrid counterpart broke a five-month consecutive streak of sales increases.<\/p>\n
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas<\/p>\n
Toyota Motor Corp.\u2019<\/a>s sales fell 8.5% in March, with sales of the San Antonio-made Tundra reporting a steeper drop.<\/p>\n Sales had been increasing during the first part of the quarter compared with the 2025 period, although February\u2019s 3.2% growth<\/a> was significantly slower than\u00a0January\u2019s 8.1% boost<\/a>. But in March, Toyota reported that it sold 19,719 fewer vehicles compared with a year ago. Total sales for the month came in at 211,617 vehicles. The March decline weighed on first-quarter sales, which edged down 0.1% on a year-over-year basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cMarch 2025 was an unusually strong month for the industry, driven in part by tariff-related news that accelerated consumer purchases and created a temporary spike in demand,\u201d Toyota communications manager Derrick Brown said. \u201cThat created a particularly high comparison point for March 2026. Even so, first-quarter sales were essentially flat year over year\u00a0\u2014 which we view as a strong result, given ongoing production constraints and lower vehicle availability as we continue to ramp up the new RAV4.\u201d<\/p>\n Cox Automotive also pointed<\/a> to the tariff-fueled surge in March 2025 sales in its projections for total U.S. new-vehicle sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n FEBRUARY SALES:\u00a0Toyota\u2019s sales slow; San Antonio-made models helping drive growth<\/a><\/p>\n San Antonio Express News Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n It expects March new-vehicle sales to be down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Cox also pointed out that market conditions had changed, with uncertainty about the economy and affordability hampering sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cSales are no longer swinging wildly month to month, but growth is also harder to come by,\u201d said\u00a0Charlie Chesbrough<\/a>, senior economist at Cox Automotive. \u201cAffordability remains the central challenge for the industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gas prices have continued to rise as the war in Iran continues. Texans are shelling out 36% more to fill up their tanks, with gas prices as of Wednesday at $3.77 per gallon compared with $2.77 per gallon the year prior, according to AAA. Despite the uncertainty with the war in the Middle East, Cox Automotive said its full-year outlook of sales falling 2.6% to a total of 15.8 million hasn\u2019t changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a year marked by policy-driven sales volatility, the new-vehicle market has settled into a slower rhythm in early 2026,\u201d said Jeremy Robb<\/a>, chief economist at Cox Automotive. \u201cThe pull-ahead demand created by last spring\u2019s tariff announcements and, later, the loss of EV tax credits is now all firmly in the rearview mirror. While the stimulus of a good tax-return season is a positive, the new-vehicle market today is being shaped by higher vehicle prices, ongoing inflationary pressures, and still-elevated interest rates.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n