TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters) - Toyota ( TM ) said on

Wednesday its worldwide output and sales reached record highs

for the first six months of the year, fuelled by strong demand

in markets including North America, Japan and China.

The world's biggest automaker's global sales for

January-June grew 5.5% year-on-year to more than 5.1 million

vehicles, supported by demand for hybrid vehicles, which

accounted for about 43% of its worldwide sales over the period.

Toyota's ( TM ) global vehicle production rose 5.8% year-on-year to

4.9 million vehicles over the first six months of the year.

For June, global sales rose 1.7% to 867,906 vehicles and

production was up 7.4% at 854,565 cars.

The production and sales figures include its luxury Lexus

brand.