Toyota Reduces N.A. Production Forecast, Source Says
TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. lowered its output forecast for North America this year by 60,000 vehicles in the wake of its recall-driven production and sales suspension, a source at a group company told Reuters. The decline will be more than offset by an upward revision of 100,000 units in non-Japan markets, the person said. That would lift global production plans by about 1 percent to 7.57 million vehicles for 2010, the person said. The world's biggest automaker had told its suppliers in December that it planned to produce 7.49 million vehicles in the 2010 calendar year, but will notify them of the latest revision, the source told Reuters on Tuesday. The person declined to be identified because Toyota does not make those plans public. Fueled by subsidy-led demand for fuel-efficient cars in Japan, Toyota raised its domestic production plan by 40,000 units, the source said. The new output figure, which excludes minivehicle unit Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd., would represent a 19 percent jump from 2009. Toyota, like the rest of the industry, is counting on double-digit sales rises in China and India to make up for an expected fall in European car demand after government subsidies run out. Toyota's North American production at wholly owned plants increased 85 percent this year through three weeks of March as the industry rebounds from last year's weakest demand in almost 30 years. Toyota's U.S. sales through February fell 12 percent from year-earlier levels, dragged down by the controversy surrounding its unintended acceleration recalls, in a market that's up 10 percent.
More Industry

Consumer Outlook on the Rise
Younger generations are feeling more positive about their financial futures and current affordability pressures than older generations, according to recent TransUnion data.
Read More →
Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →