U.S. new-car sales in July continued to show signs of recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, with Toyota Motor Corp. reporting on Monday its smallest sales decline since the pandemic hit the auto industry in mid-March.

Toyota said U.S. sales fell 19% in July from a year earlier to 169,484 vehicles.It was Toyota's best month since the outbreak halted production in North America for two months and closed sales showrooms in several us states.

U.S. auto sales have rebounded since bottoming in April as major automakers have struggled to boost production and build up weak dealer inventories, especially in states that have remained open during the economic blockade.

A visitor inspects some of Toyota's electric vehicles in Tianjin in 2019. [LI FUSHENG FOR CHINA DAILY]