Japan's Toyota group aims to sell 10.4 mln vehicles globally in 2009 - UPDATE |
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Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:41
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TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp said Friday it plans to sell 10.4 million vehicles globally in 2009, 18.2 percent more than in 2006, by capitalizing on growing demand in North America, China and other emerging economies.Toyota also said it aims to sell 9.34 million vehicles in 2007 and 9.8 million in 2008.The sales targets include sales by subsidiaries Hino Motors Ltd and Daihatsu Motor Co.The Toyota group sold 8.8 million vehicles in 2006, less than the global sales of 9.1 million of General Motors Corp of the US.If Toyota hits its 2009 sales target, it will become the first automaker to sell more than 10 million vehicles in a single year, analysts said. GM sold a record 9.55 million vehicles in 1978.Toyota replaced GM as the world's largest automaker in the first half of 2007.Toyota plans to hit its 2009 target by focusing on overseas markets.The company is aiming to sell 1.90 million vehicles in Asia, 60 percent more than its record Asian sales in 2006.The company is aiming to boost sales in Europe by nearly 24 percent to 1.45 million vehicles and sales in North America by 8.8 percent to 3.1 million.Toyota is targeting a 26 percent rise in sales in the rest of the world to 1.55 million vehicles.In Japan, it's forecasting 1.3 percent growth in sales to 2.4 million vehicles.Toyota is planning to more than double annual sales in China to 1.0 million vehicles soon after 2010 from the 430,000 it expects to sell in 2007.With demand for environmentally-friendly vehicles growing amid rising gasoline prices, the company plans to sell 1.0 million hybrid cars globally soon after 2010, up from 300,000 in 2006.Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told a press conference that he wants to boost the company's dividend payout ratio to 30 percent within three fiscal years, up from 23.4 percent in the year to March 2006.Watanabe said Toyota has set aside some 250 billion yen to buy back shares in the current fiscal year, more than the 199.9 billion yen it spent last year..(1 US dollar=116.29 yen)yumiko.nishitani@thomson.com-yas/jm/clCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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Japan's Toyota group aims to sell 10.4 mln vehicles globally in 2009 