Toyota has reported its first-half net profit rose 23% to 524.5 billion yen in the six months ended September 30, from 425.8 billion yen a year earlier. Sales for the six months to September also hit a record 8.22 trillion yen, up 8.0% from a year earlier, while pre-tax profit rose 13.7% to a record 812.0 billion yen.

Toyota has raised its unit sales forecasts in North America, Europe and Japan: "While major markets have been experiencing limited growth in recent years, Toyota's vehicle sales have seen a continued annual growth of 400,000 units," noted Toyota Motor Corp. executive vice president Ryuji Araki. Toyota's consolidated global vehicle sales reached 3.17 million units in the six months, up 7.4% or 219.000 units.

Toyota held a 42.5% share of the Japanese automobile market, up 0.4 percent from a year ago; sales in Japan rose by 57,000 units to 1.08 million units.

Toyota revised its full-year forecast upwards to a net profit of 510 billion yen, up from 440 billion yen, and forecast sales by value of 8.7 trillion yen, up from 8.3 trillion yen.