The Japanese car maker Toyota has reported a loss of $819 million in the first quarter with total sales collapsing 38.3 per cent to $40.4 billion. The car maker has seen demand dampened by the global financial crisis throughout the globe, including key markets such as America and Europe as well as in their domestic market, Japan.

Toyota sold a total of 1.4 million autos globally in the quarter, 56 per cent less than a year earlier. Automobile sales in North America dropped 47 per cent to 387,000 units.

Commenting on the financial results, Toyota Senior Managing Director Takahiko Ijichi said, “Although we were able to make certain improvements in fixed cost and cost reduction efforts, the decline in vehicle sales and the appreciation of the Japanese yen had a severe impact on our earnings.”

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