Toyota sees bright future as world number one

[Slowrider5]

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday predicted further robust growth in 2008 after racing past US rival General Motors this year to become the world's top producing automaker.

Strong growth in emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil will help to lift vehicle sales by five percent next year, despite an expected sluggish performance in the United States due to a slowing economy, Toyota said.

The Japanese auto giant said it expects to sell 9.85 million vehicles next year, up from a previous target of 9.8 million.

"Because of the US housing slump and the subprime loan problems we expect the US market to remain at the same level as this year," said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe.

In Japan, "the market is expected to remain at a rather weak level," he added.

On the other hand, sales in fast-growing economies such as China, Brazil and Russia are expected to show continued solid growth, he told reporters.

"Toyota intends to strengthen its production structure in those emerging countries," he said at a traditional year-end press conference in the automaker's hub of Aichi prefecture in central Japan.

Toyota estimated that its global sales rose six percent to 9.36 million in 2007, including subsidiaries truckmaker Hino Motors Ltd and small car specialist Daihatsu Motor Co.

General Motors, which does not give sales forecasts, has been the world's best-selling automaker for seven decades with an all-time record of selling 9.55 million vehicles in 1978.

More at link: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

[rhvfd10]

I was about to post that...

It still amazes me how Toyota still is portrayed as some kind of Saviour by the media. Not a word about recalls.

[Stéphane Dumas]

Originally Posted by rhvfd10

I was about to post that...

It still amazes me how Toyota still is portrayed as some kind of Saviour by the media. Not a word about recalls.

But it won't be long now, according to what DeLorenzo mentionned www.autoextremist.com

And as preposterous as it may sound, Toyota ran afoul of the radical Green Zombies as the reality of the manufacturer's own business model here in the U.S., - which is based on profits made from selling trucks, SUVs and luxury cars and not by moving the Prius to Hollywood types - was discovered by the Tom Friedmans of the world to much subsequent hand-wringing and cries of betrayal. They couldn't believe what the real Toyota looked like, and the rest of us couldn't believe how clueless and na•ve the environmentalists were about the way the world really worked.

To top off this tumultuous year, by the end of 2007 the national economy teetered toward Recession-Ville - a neighborhood that Detroit and Michigan had arrived at earlier in the year in a hellacious "one state" recession of ugly proportion - and 2008 was shaping up to be one giant bowl of Not Good....

...Cracks in Toyota's "Teflon kimono?" The Horror...the horror. Writing in the The New York Times last July, Lawrence Ulrich slammed Toyota and its 2008 Lexus LS 600h L in a review entitled, "Conspicuous Consumption With Green Illusions." Some excerpts worth repeating..."In recent advertisements, including one in the 'green issue' of Vanity Fair, Lexus uses one hand to present the 400-plus horsepower of the LS 600h L and the other to pat its own back for saving fuel and planet alike. The ads and the cars have convinced many, including some credulous journalists, of Lexus's pitch: that a hybrid car or S.U.V. can drive like a Porsche and sip fuel like a Prius. But a closer examination proves once again that there's no free lunch, even at the drive-through. For more than a year, Lexus has suggested that the LS 600h L - as tested, a $121,000 hybrid version of its LS 460 L flagship sedan - would set a new standard for four-door luxury automobiles. Its pitch was that the car would perform like a V-12 supersedan while whipping V-8 rivals on fuel economy. Instead, the hybrid may have set a new standard for automotive hyperbole. Behind its green Teflon shield, the Lexus proved to be just another overstuffed sedan that can barely top 20 miles a gallon - less, if you actually tap into all that power. If that's saving the planet, Jor-El had better prepare the escape pod before it's too late." It's clear that the mainstream media is finally - finally - beginning to see through the green hype being foisted off on the American public by the "Master Manipulators" at Toyota. The Lexus LS 600h L is nothing more than an overweight (700 pounds heavier than its non-hybrid counterpart), overwrought rolling monument to Toyota self-aggrandizement, its unfettered hubris and delusional thinking. The fact that you can buy a non-hybrid version of the same car and get basically the same mileage is a flat-out indictment of Toyota's "greener-than-thou" persona. Toyota's calculated "green" marketing strategy is just that - a marketing strategy - and the fact that they've been given a free pass by too many in the media who should know better and by the Hollywood "intelligentsia" who clearly can't identify a cause without talking to their publicists first, is unmitigated bull****. "On the Table," 7/18/07.

Also, with the rising of Hyundai-Kia as well as the upcoming role of VW and a resurgent GM. And at last but not the less, China and India. The next question is: will Toyota will stay 50 years on top? I have some doubts

[Xenon]

Originally Posted by Stéphane Dumas

But it won't be long now, according to what DeLorenzo mentionned www.autoextremist.com


Also, with the rising of Hyundai-Kia as well as the upcoming role of VW and a resurgent GM. And at last but not the less, China and India. The next question is: will Toyota will stay 50 years on top? I have some doubts

Hyundai/Kia is looking to be in the top 5 by the end of the decade, and apparently VW wants in on the top five, if not the 1 spot. Considering the huge amount of product coming from both of these companies, it wouldnt surprise me if Chrysler , or even Ford loses their top 5 spot(s) within the next decade...

[rueben44]

Toyota beat GM in one quarter and still they keep getting called the world number one.

[jkennedy293]

The Japanese auto giant said it expects to sell 9.85 million vehicles next year, up from a previous target of 9.8 million.

Didn't Toyota proudly boast that they could sell 10+ million units in 2008? Seems like they were bragging about breaking the barrier for the better part of the year. I guess even when Toyota revises their figures downward, and then back up, they still get hailed as saviors.

[jkennedy293]

Originally Posted by rueben44

Toyota beat GM in one quarter and still they keep getting called the world number one.

Actually, Toyota did produce about 100,000 more vehicles last year(2006) than did GM.

[rueben44]

Originally Posted by jkennedy293

Actually, Toyota did produce about 100,000 more vehicles last year(2006) than did GM.

Yes but it was my understanding it wasn't production but that the vehicles were also shipped to a distributer. Meaning they were made and ordered by a dealer or some other outlet. I could be wrong but this is how Ford lost to Chevy last year isn't it?

[redfox]

Can't see why people keep buying that Toyota junk.

[JBsZ06]

I wouldn't buy that Toyota nonsense either..

What car do they make thats so great?

I guess it pays to treat the press in a certain way as no matter what you do otherwise they print roses...

Recalls recalls and more recalls...

Boring product with mediocare styling..

I prefer nissan and mazda to toyota...same with Mistsubishi...

Can't wait till the chinese do to Japan what Japan did to us..

Paybacks a bitch.

[Robert Ryan]

Hyundai/Kia is looking to be in the top 5 by the end of the decade, and apparently VW wants in on the top five, if not the 1 spot. Considering the huge amount of product coming from both of these companies, it wouldnt surprise me if Chrysler , or even Ford loses their top 5 spot(s) within the next decade..

It would be a surprise to many on this board from the US, how much VW is growing globally. Not only Toyota but a whole swag of Asian car makers want to get into the top 5.

Toyota beat GM in one quarter and still they keep getting called the world number one.

In Forbes list of Global Companies Toyota ranks 12th, the highest Automaker..GM is about 500th..that is how much difference in performance between the companies is. Sales is only one aspect of a Companies performance. Yes GM has a long road to hoe to get back to the top.

[rueben44]

We all know that we are talking about sales leadership.

[JBsZ06]

Now that our manufacturing base is destroyed and faultering.. (sp) and our dollar continues to devalue.. Its good to know that the Japanese will be able to move to other markets with strong products and we will have a tougher time competing..(although the devalued dollar helps)

Now that the automotive sales are declining because more and more people are out of work...possibly somehow related to the destruction of our manufacturing base? the Japanese can move on..

For those that bought Japanese products (that were dumped in our marketplace as compared to europe) I hope your enjoying them..

GM might out power the situation but chrysler and ford are in deep do do..

Debtor nation. I wonder why?

[jkennedy293]

Originally Posted by JBsZ06

For those that bought Japanese products (that were dumped in our marketplace as compared to europe) I hope your enjoying them..

Funny, isn't it, that you typed that last response on a computer that, most assuredly, has parts that were made in Japan.

[Stéphane Dumas]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

In Forbes list of Global Companies Toyota ranks 12th, the highest Automaker..GM is about 500th..that is how much difference in performance between the companies is. Sales is only one aspect of a Companies performance. Yes GM has a long road to hoe to get back to the top.

If only some medias knew then Toyota isn't the "little guy"/underdog anymore...

by curiosity, which rank Renault-Nissan is currently as well as VW? And others non-auto companies like Sony, Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, McDonald's and Coca-cola?