Major Japanese automakers saw robust US sales in the first half of the fiscal year. Consumer demand for hybrids and SUVs helped move vehicles off lots. But the picture was mixed elsewhere.

For the April-to-September period, Toyota logged a 0.4 percent rise in unit sales from last year at more than 1.1 million vehicles. Honda posted an increase of over 5 percent with more than 722,000.

Subaru reported a more than 5 percent rise with over 340,000 units sold. And Mazda had a jump of almost 16 percent to over 213,000 units.

But five automakers selling in China all suffered a drop in sales amid fierce competition in the electric vehicle market.

Toyota suffered a decline of over 13 percent to around 866,000 units. Honda posted a drop of more than 37 percent and Nissan logged a decline of over 14 percent.

Globally, Toyota saw its unit sales tumble 2.8 percent. Honda logged a 6.4 percent drop and Nissan posted a decline of 3.8 percent.