Japanese Automakers Post Higher U.S. Sales in 1st Quarter

New York, April 1 (Jiji Press)--Six Japanese automakers on Tuesday reported higher vehicle sales in the U.S. market for the first quarter of this year as some consumers apparently bought cars or trucks before President Donald Trump's auto tariffs take effect.

U.S. vehicle sales by the Japanese companies rose 4.5 pct from a year earlier to some 1.5 million units.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales increased 0.9 pct to 570,269 units.

Sales of Toyota's Tacoma pickup truck, assembled in Mexico and imported into the United States, nearly tripled to 59,825 units. "Some customers took tariffs into account in deciding whether to buy," a company official said.

The company saw sales of its flagship RAV4 SUV fall 7.5 pct to 115,402 units.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]