Toyota may trim 2012 output target – Nikkei

Tuesday, 20 December 2011 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp is expected to produce fewer vehicles next year than it had initially told its suppliers to expect, due to weakening demand in Europe and elsewhere, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The new target of 8.65 million units will still be slightly higher than its yearly production record of 8.53 million vehicles set in 2007 and about 20 percent more than its expected output this year, the daily said. The company had, in August, told its suppliers to expect worldwide output of up to 8.9 million units next year, according to the daily.

For the current year, it had expected to produce 7.7 million vehicles, but is likely to manufacture only about 7 million due to problems caused by the Tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand earlier this year, the daily reported. Toyota will also come up with entry-level cars priced at around 1 million yen ($12,900) to target first-time buyers in emerging countries and raise its marketshare in such markets from around 8 percent to 10 percent, the paper added.

It intends to maintain its Japanese production at 3 million units.