Nicholas Takahashi

Toyota Motor Corp.’s global sales fell slightly after turmoil in the Middle East and a slump in China led the world’s biggest carmaker to record a drop for the fifth month in a row.

Global sales in June, including those of subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co., fell 1.1% from a year earlier to 926,688 units, the company said in a statement July 30. Production climbed 2.2% to 984,408 vehicles.

The yen’s slide to a 40-year low may be causing headaches for Japanese policymakers, but exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. are set to reap an earnings boon, offering a much-needed respite from US tariffs, surging oil prices and strained supply chains.

Plus: Toyota may be grooming a member of its founding family for the top job.

Nissan Motor Co.’s quarterly profit rose as the carmaker sought to build on progress from the early stages of its restructuring plan.

The chairman’s son Daisuke Toyoda is getting a job at the hallowed Motomachi factory.

Toyota unveiled a ¥1 trillion ($6.3 billion) buyback and raised its profit outlook on solid sales in the US and Japan, which were boosted by a weaker yen that preceded the recent gain in the currency.

Rresilient hybrid demand and a weak yen have helped make up for rising costs, tariffs and supply disruptions.

Honda Motor Co. raised its profit outlook after quarterly results were boosted by a weak yen and strong demand in the US for gas-electric hybrids.

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have essentially traded places since plans to combine the two companies collapsed dramatically last year.