Toyota says March U.S. sales rose about 35 percent

Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. sales rose about 35 percent in March from a year earlier after the automaker offered steep discounts to win back consumers after massive recalls, a U.S. executive said on Tuesday.

Toyota U.S. sales chief Jim Lentz said the company was still reviewing incentive plans for April and had yet to decide whether to extend zero-percent financing and other unprecedented discounts beyond March.

"For a week or so in January, we lost a lot of momentum in the marketplace. We needed to make sure the market and our dealers understood that we were open for business," Lentz told reporters on the sidelines of a forum sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Association and IHS Global Insight.

"They (incentives) are a short-term plan. Our intention is not to stay on incentives for a long period of time," Lentz said.

Toyota, which has traditionally spurned steep discounts to protect resale values, launched in March zero-percent financing for five years on top-selling models, including the Camry, and free maintenance for two years in what it called its "most far-reaching sales program in history."

"I think our loyal customers are coming back," Lentz said. The challenge is going to be attracting the conquest buyers across the road."