Toyota 'to produce fewer vehicles'
Toyota, the world’s biggest car maker, is preparing to set a 2009 global vehicle production target of about 6.5 million vehicles, the lowest in six years, it was reported today.
Toyota would not comment on the report by the Nikkei, Japan’s top business daily paper.
The company has yet to give a vehicle sales or production goal for this year, citing the unprecedented drop in global auto demand that has followed the US financial crisis.
Toyota is slipping into its first net loss since 1950 for the fiscal year through March as sales plunge not only in the crucial US market but also Europe, Japan and emerging economies.
The Nikkei said Toyota would be releasing the production plan to parts suppliers soon.
The last time the car maker produced fewer than 6.5 million vehicles annually was in 2003, when it produced 6.1 million vehicles, according to Toyota.
Toyota has been working hard to reduce excess inventory by stopping assembly lines on some days, and is expected to achieve normal inventory levels by May, according to the Nikkei.
Toyota’s production will again pick up in May compared with previous months, but such levels will still be far below the previous year’s, it said.
For five years through 2007, Toyota had been expanding aggressively, riding on its reputation for mileage and quality. Initially, the manufacturer had said it expected to sell more than 10 million vehicles worldwide on a consolidated basis in 2009.
Joining a string of Japanese companies sliding into the red, Toyota said this month that it expected a net loss of €2.9bn for the fiscal year through March.
