Toyota sales surge in March, other brands hit the brakes in “toughest month in memory”

Market leader Toyota has defied the odds by posting a sales increase in what has been described by industry insiders as “the toughest month in memory” – as the market experienced its biggest slowdown since the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago. Confidential preliminary figures show Toyota increased sales in March by 1.6 per cent compared to the same month the prior year, while most other Top 10 brands dropped by between 30 and 40 per cent in the industry's 24th month in a row of decline.