Toyota set to surpass GM in '06; plans production increase to 9.06M vehicles

[Vintalage]

Toyota Plans to Produce 9M Vehicles in '06

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer 1 hour, 34 minutes ago

NAGOYA, Japan - Toyota said Tuesday it plans to produce 9.06 million vehicles in 2006, threatening to overtake struggling U.S. rival General Motors as the world's biggest automaker.

Although General Motors does not give full-year production targets, Toyota's forecast will put it neck-and-neck with GM and possibly allow Toyota to take the lead. GM produced 6.7 million vehicles during the first three quarters of this year and expects to produce about 9 million vehicles this year.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, has been growing at a time when General Motors Corp. has been stumbling, losing $1.6 billion in the third quarter and seeing its market share in North America chipped away by Asian automakers, including Toyota.

Toyota's production target, announced by President Katsuaki Watanabe at a news conference in Nagoya, central Japan, marks a 10 percent increase from the 8.25 million vehicles Toyota expects to produce this year.

Like Toyota, other Japanese automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., are also in good health.

Honda said Tuesday in Tokyo that it projects global sales in 2005 will have risen 5 percent from a year earlier to a record 3.35 million vehicles, while vehicle production worldwide will have gone up 7.2 percent from last year to 3.41 million cars.

Koji Endo, auto analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston in Tokyo, believes that Toyota is strong because it has ample money to invest in facilities and research that in turn allows it to produce cars that appeal to the market and cut costs, thereby producing more profits.

With Toyota booming on a "positive cycle" of healthy sales leading to more sales, it's definitely on track to overtake GM in annual vehicle production, he said.

"It's bound to happen either next year or the year after," Endo said. "But perhaps there isn't much point to the question. It doesn't make much sense to be comparing vehicle production numbers between the world's most profitable automaker and one that's on the verge of collapse."

Toyota said it expects to sell 8.85 million vehicles worldwide next year, up 9 percent from 8.09 million estimated for this year.

When not including its subsidiary automakers Hino and Daihatsu, Toyota plans to produce 8.11 million vehicles next year, up 10 percent from 7.37 million vehicles in 2005.

Watanabe played down Toyota's possible imminent No. 1 status in the world auto industry.

"We try to prepare our production and sales to respond to customer needs in every region," he told reporters. "I am not thinking much about whether we will become No. 1 in the world as a result of that."

Watanabe also brushed off fears about a possible U.S. political backlash of protective sentiment that intensified in the 1980s, noting that Toyota has boosted production and parts purchasing in the United States, and become a good corporate citizen.

"I do not anticipate trade friction to grow into a major problem at this time," he said.

Peter Morici, University of Maryland economist and auto industry expert, believes that GM, Ford Motor Co. and the
United Auto Workers, the U.S. labor union, do not enjoy much public sympathy, compared to the 1980s.

"I do not believe the U.S. public will support protection for GM. If the government does it, it will have to be veiled," he said.

Detroit-based General Motors has announced drastic cost cuts, including trimming 30,000 jobs, or 27 percent of its North American manufacturing jobs, and the closure of 12 facilities by 2008.

GM's U.S. market share fell to 26.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year compared with 33 percent a decade ago, the result of increasing competition from Asian rivals. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered GM's debt to "junk" status earlier this year.

GM isn't the only U.S. automaker cutting costs.

Ford Motor Co., which reported a third-quarter loss of $284 million, has said it plans to eliminate about 4,000 white-collar jobs in North America early next year as part of a restructuring plan.

Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford has said he plans to announce U.S. plant closings and layoffs in January.

Watanabe said Toyota has succeeded because it followed its dream of being the first in the world to produce the best cars at the lowest costs. And Toyota isn't about to sit on its laurels, he said.

"It's critical we maintain our spirit of perpetual challenge," Watanabe said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/...ltBHNlYwM3MTY-

- Yahoo.com

[Sleepwalkr]

Oh well.

However, GM still highly outsells Toyota in profit. Earlier this year I read the Forbes Top 25 companies in the world list, and GM was #3, just after Wal-Mart and Exxon/Mobil. I think Ford was about #5 or #6. Toyota wasn't even in the top 10.

But, if GM doesn't spice up their lines soon, that could all change.

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Sleepwalkr

Oh well.

However, GM still highly outsells Toyota in profit. Earlier this year I read the Forbes Top 25 companies in the world list, and GM was #3, just after Wal-Mart and Exxon/Mobil. I think Ford was about #5 or #6. Toyota wasn't even in the top 10.

But, if GM doesn't spice up their lines soon, that could all change.

No, GM outsells Toyota, but Toyota is returning greater profit.

[GrahamKracka]

Originally Posted by Sleepwalkr

Oh well.

However, GM still highly outsells Toyota in profit. Earlier this year I read the Forbes Top 25 companies in the world list, and GM was #3, just after Wal-Mart and Exxon/Mobil. I think Ford was about #5 or #6. Toyota wasn't even in the top 10.

But, if GM doesn't spice up their lines soon, that could all change.

i dont expect GM to be anywhere near top 25 next year

GM is fuuuuucckkkkeed

dont expect the beginnings of a recovery till 2008 or so

[TJ95GAGT]

Found this article comparing GM and Toyota

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/gmv...omparison.html

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by TJ95GAGT

Found this article comparing GM and Toyota

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/gmv...omparison.html

Deserves it's own thread.

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by Vintalage

No, GM outsells Toyota, but Toyota is returning greater profit.

Not seeing where you are getting that info. Looks like the reverse will happen. I don't think Toyota is nearly as profitable as GM. Doesn't GM make trains? I know they own several finance companies, not just for vehicles.

[GaRedCoupe]

Originally Posted by Sleepwalkr

Oh well.

However, GM still highly outsells Toyota in profit. Earlier this year I read the Forbes Top 25 companies in the world list, and GM was #3, just after Wal-Mart and Exxon/Mobil. I think Ford was about #5 or #6. Toyota wasn't even in the top 10.

But, if GM doesn't spice up their lines soon, that could all change.

what does profit mean? Markup! Overpriced.

[Braves299]

It was bound to happen with all the financial trouble they are in. That doesn't mean Toyota builds better vehicles though.

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Mike3800

Not seeing where you are getting that info. Looks like the reverse will happen. I don't think Toyota is nearly as profitable as GM. Doesn't GM make trains? I know they own several finance companies, not just for vehicles.

From that link that TJ95 posted:

Profitability per Vehicle
Source: 2005 Harbour Report

GM:
Loses $2,331 per vehicle

Toyota:
Makes $1,488 per vehicle

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Braves299

It was bound to happen with all the financial trouble they are in. That doesn't mean Toyota builds better vehicles though.

If that were not the case, people would stick with the domestics.

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by Vintalage

From that link that TJ95 posted:

Profitability per Vehicle
Source: 2005 Harbour Report

GM:
Loses $2,331 per vehicle

Toyota:
Makes $1,488 per vehicle

You said "Toyota is returning greater profit". If you meant Toyota is returning greater profit per vehicle than you should have said that.

GM is still more profitable then Toyota even in their "crisis".

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Mike3800

You said "Toyota is returning greater profit". If you meant Toyota is returning greater profit per vehicle than you should have said that.

GM is still more profitable then Toyota even in their "crisis".

Then there is this:


Net Income in the First 9 Months of 2005

GM:

$4.15 billion loss from North America operations off-set by profits in Europe and Asia for an overall loss of $3.8 billion

Toyota:

$7.89 billion (¥921.7 billion, converted at 116.81 yen to $1)

Question is, is the 3.8 billion considered the total income or just the loss.

Also, these numbers are all old. It says the first 9 months of 2005.

[Vintalage]

Again, GM is the global sales leader (which will soon change), but Toyota is returning greater profits as a company. Toyota is not losing money, GM is. That is not considered profitable. If you haven't noticed, Market share is down.

[Mike3800]

OK... it's worse than I had thought.

Sucks to be them I guess.

Thanks Vintalage, or whatever you name is. You are the site leader in bringing us all the negative news relating to GM. I'm still waiting for your editorial titled -

"Dr. Vintalage: How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Hate GM".

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by MetaGTP1

Thanks Vintalage, or whatever you name is. You are the site leader in bringing us all the negative news relating to GM. I'm still waiting for your editorial titled -

"Dr. Vintalage: How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Hate GM".

Sore?

This news reflects upon GM and gives us insight as to what is going on in the industry. What is the problem? You want to live on fantasy land?

[2003SCT]

I DO think threads like this are funny....much less stickys.


I think that things like this should be posted over at Toyota Nation....not GAGT. And not that it doesn't have stuff to do with automotive news....it just gets old. I was going through one of my old Road & Track magazines...it was August 1991 and they were reviewing a few cars in that months issue and they were talking about the newly redone(at that time) Pontiac Grand Am. No less than twice in the article did they talk about, "Is this gonna be the car that helps the STRUGGLING american auto industry...the starving Big 3?" Here's the funny part...this was 14 YEARS AGO! And even before that we have been hearing and reading articles about the issues that the Big 3 are having. I think that in the reality of it all....I think it is the absolute definition of beating a dead horse. Not that its not valid....its just amazing how that it makes its way into everything that people seem to talk about. I think in reality other companies setting the bar higher and higher is a good thing. Only as of recent, GM has decided to get off its rear end and actually admit a lax attitude and continual disconcern for the state at hand. I think that its great that that Toyota is raising the bar for efficiency and things of that nature(though I think that the majority of their product is boring and totally devoid of driving dynamics whatsoever)...there is alot to learn for everyone. If the argument is about profitability then GM and everyone else lost the battle awhile ago to Toyota. I am glad that I bought my Grand Am and have no regrets. I am glad when I see alot of 40 yr old women driving Camrys around....I couldnt picture driving one...would be like a short minivan...and then again most people dont enjoy driving like I do so I can understand why they would want a point A to point B appliance. Things like the Ecotec, a truly modular global engine are showing what GM can do when it puts its mind to it. Even in 4 cyl sport compact racing where Toyota has almost 0 presence. Anyone that knows anything about business knows that things dont change overnight...and we have only begun. Alot of the new products and platforms are things GM hadnt done in FOREVER. But Rome wasnt built in a day. The inefficiencies that have lasted for years and years are being changed and this will be good for everyone...here and abroad. Sorry, but the reality is that Toyota isn't THAT GOOD where within a short time, automakers can be doing equal products that they couldnt have a few years before. Just compare a new STS-V to a LS430....each has a different customer but both are amazing products who wouldnt interest the opposite. Like I said, things are getting better for all. The whole union thing sucks and I amsure that Toyota has enjoyed using that to its advantage..its business..no hard feelings. And this can happen to anyone....look at Sony right now...doing cutbacks, laying off workers and restructuring THEIR inefficiencies.

The thing I can't stand is the constant badmouthing of Ford and GM...and I find it not so much critical as it is negative. If you feel better by posting articles about how Toyota is doing fantastic then great...I think it says alot about you as a person though....which is somewhat of a general consensus around here IMO. You already know what the general opinion is....its like the guys that troll on Vette boards that say, "Oh my 03 Cobra with mods is faster...haha"....you are wasting your breath....I could just go to GMinsidenews and get the latest on how Toyota is making cars that smell like flowers or something....but I am here...and enjoying my car....after this I will prob. get a GTO like many others....not a Toyota. I still think the lineup though it sells well...is a pretty vanilla lineup. Yaris, Corolla, Sienna, Camry, Highlander etc.....wheres the fun? Sorry, Ill stick with a Goat or a Honda.



CHRIS

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by 2003SCT

The thing I can't stand is the constant badmouthing of Ford and GM...

I agreee with everything you said except... well... Ford sucks. Wait!! *looks down at parking lot @ my car (1990 FORD Probe with the FORD V6 engine, not the Mazda engine)*

ok nevermind. @ most of your post!

Originally Posted by Vintalage

Sore?

This news reflects upon GM and gives us insight as to what is going on in the industry. What is the problem? You want to live on fantasy land?

No, I don't live in 'Fantasy Land', I am not sore or Nervous(?). You just always seem to seek out all the negative press about GM that you can find, and start threads. Do you own a GM vehicle?