Toyota to raise global output 17% to 7.5 million units in 2010: report

Toyota to raise global output 17% to 7.5 million units in 2010: report

By MarketWatch
NAGOYA (Nikkei) -- Toyota Motor Corp. /quotes/comstock/!7203 (JP:7203 3,890, +30.00, +0.78%) informed major parts suppliers Friday that it plans to manufacture roughly 7.5 million vehicles world-wide in 2010, up 17% or so from the projection for 2009, the Nikkei reported.

The figure, which excludes group firms Daihatsu Motor Co. /quotes/comstock/!7262 (JP:7262 928.00, 0.00, 0.00%) and Hino Motors Ltd. /quotes/comstock/!7205 (JP:7205 322.00, -3.00, -0.92%) , is at a level similar to Toyota's output in 2005 and represents a decline of one million units from 2007.

But there is a good chance that the actual output in 2010 will exceed the projection because it does not account for the positive impact of the Japanese government's decision to extend the subsidy program for environmentally friendly vehicles.

Following the severe global auto sales slump after the global financial crisis, Toyota early this year embarked on steep production cuts centering on Japan, the U.S. and Europe. As a result, its vehicle output sank as much as half from a year earlier during the February-April period.

But sales in major markets have been recovering gradually, as inventory adjustments have run their course and various governments have introduced measures to stimulate car sales. With demand recoveries in China and other emerging markets also providing support, Toyota's global sales recorded their first year-on-year rise in 15 months this October.

Toyota sees sales growth in emerging markets continuing next year. In China, whose 2009 sales are expected to push it above the U.S. to make it the world's biggest auto market, the leading Japanese carmaker plans to expand its network.

In North America, the company anticipates that sales will pick up as the economy recovers.

And Toyota believes that Japanese sales of its Prius hybrid and other vehicles will remain solid, thanks to the extension of the subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles until September