Toyota and Nissan sales and production figures show signs of life

Toyota and Nissan sales and production figures show signs of life




The Toyota Prius remains the top-selling car in Japan for the sixth consecutive month

Japan's carmakers ended the year with cause for cautious optimism after Toyota and Nissan reported year-on-year rises in global production and a rebound in domestic sales.

Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, said global production had jumped 22% from a year earlier, the first rise in 16 months.

Domestic production rose 13.5% thanks to strong sales of passenger cars, including the Prius hybrid, the top-selling car in Japan for the sixth straight month.

Toyota said November domestic sales had risen more than 40% from a month earlier, helped by government subsidies for people who trade in older vehicles for fuel-efficient models.

Nissan, Japan's third biggest carmaker, said global output had risen 32.6%, while domestic production rose for the first time in 14 months. Honda and Mazda reported declines.

In the US, overall auto sales rose 0.1% in November, the first increase since the government ended its cash-for-clunkers programme at the end of August. But despite those tentative signs of life and strong demand in China and the rest of Asia, Toyota has reportedly instructed its suppliers to make steep price cuts in attempt to return to profitability. According to media reports, the company said it wanted component prices to fall 30% by the time it launches new models in 2013.

While the cuts will benefit consumers, particularly in India and China, where demand is rising for low-cost cars, they are expected to heap even more pressure on Toyota's huge network of subcontractors.

Even with rising sales and cost cuts, Toyota, which suffered a ¥437bn (£3bn) loss last year – the worst performance in the company's 72-year history – still expects losses of ¥200bn for the year to March 2010.

Tax breaks and subsidies to encourage consumers to buy fuel-efficient models are expected to drive up car sales in Japan for the first time in six years in 2010, according to the Japan automobile manufacturers' association.

The association's chairman, Satoshi Aoki, told news agency Kyodo News that he expected sales to pick up in the US while those to China would continue to grow.

the dealers in vegas seem to have tons of prius' (what is the term for multiple prius?) on the lots.

prius-storic