Toyota: 2008 to see sales of 9.85 million vehicles globally

Nagoya: "All set to upset" would be a good maxim to sum up Toyota's plans for 2008. Having pipped domestic Detroit giant General Motors (GM) in its home market, Toyota has now announced that it is looking to sell 9.85 million vehicles globally in 2008.
   
According to reports, Toyota also indicated plans to produce 9.95 million vehicles worldwide during 2008, up 5 per cent from 2007, which makes it the same percentage jump for the automaker's global sales.
   
Toyota Motor Corp's sales targets, which were announced at a hotel in Nagoya near the company's headquarters, surpass the 9.3 million vehicles GM has estimated for production this year. GM so far has not announced a forecast for the number of vehicles it expects to manufacture or market in 2008.
   
If Toyota were to achieve its forecasts, it would trump the industry record of 9.55 million vehicles sold, which was established by GM in 1978.

For its part, GM has been engaged in fierce combat with Japanese car makers, both domestically as well as in its overseas markets, to hang on to its industry top spot which it has held for around 76 years. Toyota, on the other hand, has steadily swallowed market share, not just from GM but most domestic US car manufacturers, given the growing popularity of its models such as the Camry sedan, Corolla subcompact and the Prius gas-electric hybrid, against the backdrop of soaring gasoline prices that have the general appeal of its smaller, more fuel-efficient product line.