9th February, 2012
Japan’s largest car maker said it sold 7.95 million worldwide in 2011, down six percent, as it wrestled with a strong yen while its supply chains were disrupted by the country’s March quake-tsunami disaster and record flooding in Thailand.
But in 2012, global sales of the Toyota brand alone are expected to reach 8.58 million, with its mini-car unit Daihatsu expected to sell 850 000 vehicles and truckmaker Hino planning to sell 150 000. Toyota had been the world’s biggest carmaker since 2008, but its 2011 figure left General Motors, on 9.03 million sales, in top spot, with Volkswagen second on 8.16 million vehicles.
Toyota said the firm had been hit by one-off natural disasters in 2011, adding that it could benefit from a new car subsidy in Japan. “We aim to sell more in emerging countries, mainly China, India, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia,” they said.
“In China, we hope to boost our sales by 10.0 percent. We are hoping to do better in the USA where the market is improving. Toyota plans to boost its sales by 16 percent.”