Toyota sets high goal to regain its top seat

TOKYO - Agence France-Presse

Toyota CEO Akido Toyoda poses for cameras duing a press event in Tokyo. AFP photo

Toyota said yesterday it expects to sell 9.7 million vehicles globally this year, a 22 percent increase from 2011 as Japan’s biggest automaker accelerates its recovery process following last year’s natural disasters.

Those figures may put Toyota back in its pole position as the world’s biggest automaker, ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen.

Hopes to get title back

Previous company figures showed Toyota, whose brands include Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino, topped the global carmakers’ table in the first half of 2012, accelerating past U.S.-based General Motors and the German auto giant.

Toyota lost the title last year - a spot it had held between 2008 and 2010 - following a slump in production and sales owing to Japan’s March 11 quake-tsunami disaster, floods in Thailand and the strong yen.

New targets

General Motors, which sold about 9 million vehicles last year, was the world’s biggest carmaker followed by Volkswagen with more than 8 million vehicles sold. Toyota sold 7.95 million vehicles. Toyota also said yesterday it expected to sell about 9.91 million vehicles in 2013. It was on track to produce 9.94 million vehicles in 2013, nearly unchanged from this year, the company said.