TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its global production for the year ended March fell 2.9 percent from a year earlier to 9.68 million units, marking the first decrease in four years, after it was impacted by a quality scandal.

In fiscal 2024, global sales inched down 0.3 percent to 10.27 million units, after the company was found not to have fully followed government standards in vehicle safety testing, the automaker said.

But for March alone, worldwide production rose 9.1 percent from a year earlier to 880,476 units and sales grew 7.9 percent to 968,442 cars, thanks to demand brought forward in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariffs.

The scandal also affected domestic output in the last fiscal year, falling 2.2 percent to 3.24 million cars, with production of some popular models briefly stopped. Overseas output slid 3.3 percent to 6.44 million units.

The automaker sold 1.51 million cars in Japan, down 1.6 percent from a year earlier. Overseas sales were almost flat at 8.77 million cars.

A recall of the Prius hybrid also affected both global sales and production, Toyota said.

By region, production and sales in North America were flat at 2.07 million units and 2.73 million units, respectively, as the impact of a recall of some models was offset by robust demand for hybrids.

In China, where the automaker faces severe price competition from local brands, output fell 7.8 percent to 1.55 million cars while sales were down 5.9 percent to 1.79 million vehicles.