Toyota Motor Corporation sold 5,267,216 vehicles globally between April and September, marking a 4.7% increase compared with the same period last year. This represents the highest sales for the first six months of the fiscal year.

The world’s largest automaker attributed the growth to rising demand for hybrid vehicles in North America and China. In the United States, sales surged 11.3% to 1,295,666 units, while in China, Toyota’s sales rose 5.5% to 914,342 units, aided by the launch of new electric vehicles.

However, domestic sales in Japan saw a slight decline of 0.4%, totaling 713,967 units, due in part to the temporary recall of the popular Prius hybrid.

Globally, production for the six-month period increased 6% to 4,985,122 units, with domestic production up 3.4% to 1,585,622 units, reflecting improvements following last year’s certification scandal.

For September alone, Toyota’s global sales rose 3.1% year-on-year to 879,314 vehicles, marking the ninth consecutive month of growth. Production for the month hit a record high of 918,146 units, up 11.1%, setting a new benchmark for monthly output.