Feb 27th - Taxi Firms Offer New Mobile Services For Customers

Major taxi companies in Tokyo are ramping up efforts to attract more repeat customers by providing new services that offer greater convenience to mobile phone users.

Tokyomusen, a taxi association in Shinjuku Ward that has a fleet of roughly 4,500 taxis, will launch a new service as early as June that helps customers quickly find cabs by dialing a phone number on their handsets. Customers will not need to tell the dispatcher where they are, as drivers will be able to pinpoint their locations with the global positioning systems in mobile phones.

Nihon Kotsu Co., meanwhile, will launch a service Tuesday that allows customers to make reservations with an application on smartphones equipped with U.S.-based Google Inc.'s Android operating system. This service is already available through U.S.-based Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

Nihon Kotsu, the largest taxi company in Tokyo, also plans to expand its lineup of taxi stands at hospitals and large buildings to about 20 locations in fiscal 2013, up from 15 at present.

Taxi sales reached about 1.8 trillion yen in Japan in fiscal 2009, down more than 60% from the fiscal 1991 peak.

Feb 25th - In U.S., Toyota Hit By Recalls, and Resurgent Local Rivals

Toyota Motor Corp. suffered its first drop in U.S. market share in 11 years in 2010, as massive vehicle recalls and reinvigorated local rivals created markedly tougher competition for the Japanese company.

Toyota's U.S. market share fell 1.8 percentage points to 15.2% last year. Ford Motor Co., regaining strength in its home market, relegated Toyota to third place in the U.S.

Over the past year, Toyota has been beefing up its quality control system.

Last year saw a remarkable revival of the U.S. Big Three carmakers. As their restructuring efforts started paying off, and consumer confidence in Toyota took a hit due to a series of highly publicized recalls, the Big Three increased their aggregate U.S. market share for the first time in 15 years.

Looking ahead, Toyota's uphill battle will likely continue, as rivals are stepping up their challenges, releasing models in the midsize and compact categories that have underpinned Japanese automakers' global success.

"It's as if I were looking at the Japanese market," an executive of a Japanese automaker said at the North American International Auto Show, which was held in January in Detroit.

The event was full of new subcompacts, including General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Sonic and Ford's Focus. Korean and German rivals, such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG, also plan to launch new models in the medium-compact vehicle category, in which Japanese automakers now control a roughly 50% share.

Fresh Recalls

On Thursday, Toyota announced it would recall a total of 2.39 million vehicles, including 2.17 million in the U.S., for problems involving possible floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal. Similar problems led to millions of Toyota recalls last year.

Over the past year, Toyota has been beefing up its quality control system, creating the position of chief quality officer for each major region, including North America, Europe and China, in an effort to ensure a thorough grasp of information on vehicle problems. And right after announcing massive recalls, Toyota gave 1,000 or so of its engineers an additional task of finding ways to improve vehicle quality.

One reason that Toyota's recalls tend to be increasing is that the company has learned a lesson from its bitter experience in the U.S.: Toyota has made it a rule to swiftly disclose problems as soon as their causes are uncovered, even if the problems are minor.

Toyota's efforts to achieve a turnaround in the U.S. will rest largely on the success of new models. This year, the company plans to launch an all-new Camry, its mainstay sedan. Other new U.S. offerings will include the fuel-efficient Yaris subcompact and the wagon version of the Prius hybrid.

Feb 21st - Toyota Shifts Domestic Talent To Emerging-Market Sales

Stepping up efforts to boost sales in emerging countries, Toyota Motor Corp. has reassigned 10% of its roughly 1,000 domestic sales personnel.

The 100 or so affected staffers join the 200 or so domestic employees already in charge of emerging markets. They will be tasked with developing sales networks as well as drawing up plans for new products and sales promotion.

Those reassigned will work out of Japan for the time being, making trips to local markets as needed. The move will be included in a long-term management policy Toyota is to announce March 9.

Toyota enjoys a nearly 50% market share in Japan but has lagged behind foreign rivals in emerging countries. In Brazil, which overtook Germany to become the world's fourth-largest auto market in 2010, its share amounts to just 3%. And in China, now the world's biggest auto market, it has a share of 7%.

Moving to increase sales, Toyota launched the Etios low-priced sedan in India late last year. This locally manufactured passenger car is priced at the local equivalent of 920,000 yen to 1.28 million yen.

In China and Brazil, the automaker is working toward kicking off production at new plants next year.

And in Indonesia, group firm Daihatsu Motor Co. is to build a new plant in 2013. Toyota plans to procure compact cars priced at 800,000 yen to 900,000 yen from this plant, hoping to tap demand among the Asian middle classes.

The firm is accelerating efforts to increase sales in emerging countries at a time when the Japanese market's growth potential remains poor.

Domestic new-car sales grew 14% on the year to 1.56 million units in 2010, thanks to government subsidies for environmentally friendly vehicles. But this still fell 10% short of the peak hit in 2004.

Feb 12th - Toyota To Slash Board Size For Faster Decision-Making

Toyota Motor Corp. will reduce its director levels from 27 to 10-15 in a bid to speed decision-making amid intensifying global competition.

The leading carmaker's board today consists of a chairman, two vice chairmen, a president, six vice presidents, 15 managing directors and two directors.

The company also has 50 managing officers, which are the equivalent of corporate officers at many other companies. By also shedding managing officers, Toyota will likely shrink the size of its upper echelon to around 60 people from 77 currently.

The auto giant has expanded its executive roster in lock step with sales growth. But with the business environment changing rapidly and as the race over next-generation green vehicles becomes heated, slimming down its management team has become a top priority.

Toyota normally makes changes to its management lineup in June, when it holds its annual general shareholders meeting. But some of the top-executive culls may be announced in April, when the automaker is due to unveil its long-term business plan.

Feb 10th - Fit Compact Holds Lesson For Honda Management

Honda Motor Co. is much talked about by auto industry analysts, who marvel at the Fit compact's brisk sales and the automaker's rapid earnings recovery.

The Fit HV has the same power system as the Insight to cut costs.

A look behind the scenes at the development of the Fit Hybrid, which was launched last October, helps explain the mystery.

In June 2008, 25 people overseeing the rollout of the new model gathered at a hotel in the resort town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. People in the marketing department had asked that car's design not be changed, citing the existing model's solid sales. The development team disagreed, saying it wanted the car to evolve.

Honda has a tradition of hosting "camps" during the launch of a new model to let people from various departments mull things over. Although there were many different views about what kind of car the Fit Hybrid should be, there was one point on which all agreed: the need to cut production costs.

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Honda has lagged behind rival Toyota Motor Corp. in hybrid vehicles. Auto sales have been slow and consumers are reluctant to splash out on expensive cars. But simply slashing the price would make the new model unprofitable and the management would not likely approve the project in that case.

The key to resolving the problem lay in borrowing from Honda's Insight hybrid, said Kohei Hitomi, head of the Fit Hybrid project. The cost of hybrid power systems is a major factor in the price of the cars. Thus, turning out affordable cars depends on holding that cost down. Using the power system from the Insight would let Honda save on development and production costs and boost profits through economies of scale.

But there was a big obstacle: mounting the Insight's 40-liter gasoline tank on the much smaller Fit.

Break from tradition

Honda had been here before. Five years earlier, when the Insight was being developed, engineers working on the two models worked closely together even before they knew whether the Fit Hybrid would go into production. They created designs to that would allow the same power system to be used on both.

Honda used to design auto bodies from scratch for each new model just for the challenge. Joint development of the two hybrid vehicles was thus a break from tradition.

Honda rolled out another hybrid, the CR-Z, last February. The CR-Z has a sporty look but it shares about 20% of its components with the Insight and around 10% with the Fit. The popular Freed minivan is based on the Fit's chassis. Honda is now using common parts in as many models as possible.

The carmaker is also taking a second look at sales over the past couple of years to eliminate waste and focus on its most popular models to maximize economies of scale. Even the hallowed Civic was not immune from scrutiny. Honda pulled the Civic from the Japanese market at the end of last year.

This "selection and concentration" strategy is paying off. The Fit made up 54% of Honda's domestic sales in January.

Honda President Takanobu Ito said Honda cannot survive as a big company, so he wants to turn it into a great mid-sized firm that can quickly adapt to new circumstances. As a company, Honda is adopting what could be called "Fit management" -- trying to become small, nimble organization that brings in big profits.

Honda plans to launch its first hybrid wagon, the Fit Shuttle, next month. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the model and it seems destined to play an increasingly important role in the company's future.

Feb 9th - Toyota Cleared In Probe, will sales accelerate now?

Now that a federal investigation has found that engine electronics played no role in sudden, unintended acceleration of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, the focus has shifted to whether the outcome will provide a tailwind for the firm's flagging U.S. sales.

Japan's leading automaker recalled nearly 8 million cars through the end of January last year over the acceleration issue. Consumer concerns over the quality of Toyota cars have largely receded since then, but much damage has been done. Although total U.S. auto demand grew 11% on the year in 2010, the firm's sales there slipped 0.4%.

One reason for the poor performance is that many potential buyers were waiting for updated models to be rolled out, including a revamped Camry compact. But weighing even more heavily on sales was that a significant number of consumers chose to put off purchases until the Department of Transportation came to a definitive conclusion about the causes of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

For the investigation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which headed the probe, mobilized its engineers with expertise in such areas as electronic engineering, electromagnetic interference and ergonomics.

That Toyota's electronics control system has been cleared by an organization as respected as NASA is expected to go a long way toward easing consumer concerns about the quality of its cars.

Also, the findings will likely have a major impact on the product-liability suits against Toyota at a California federal district court, because the safety of Toyota's electronics control system is one of the central issues.

Feb 8th - Toyota Lifts FY View, But Oct-Dec Net Profit Drops 39%

A little more than a year after a massive recall threatened to run it off the road, Toyota Motor Corp. predicted its net profit would jump in the current fiscal year ending in March thanks to strong sales overseas and extensive cost-cutting.

But Toyota also revealed in its results for the latest reporting period that it, like its Japanese rivals, is still being dogged by a stronger yen and a slump in domestic auto sales.

The world's biggest auto maker by sales Tuesday boosted its net profit projection to Y490 billion ($5.97 billion), up 40% from its previous estimate in November and more than double the Y209 billion it earned last year.

"The fact that we were able to raise our forecast indicates that our cost-cutting efforts have exceeded our own expectations," Toyota senior managing director Takahiko Ijichi said at a press conference following the earning release. "We think that shows we're back on the road to recovery."

However, the company also said that in the October-December quarter its net profit slid 39% to Y93.63 billion from Y153.22 billion in the same period a year earlier on the back of lower sales volumes in several key markets and persistent strength in the Japanese currency.

Toyota has raised its full-year profit outlook for three straight quarters, up from an initial estimate of Y310 billion back in May. The revised number for the year ending in March is still far below that of Honda Motor Co., which expects a Y530 billion profit for this fiscal year, but above that of Nissan Motor Co.'s Y270 billion estimate. Nissan reports its latest earnings on Wednesday.

Despite its steadily improving profit outlook, Toyota's income is still only at levels it reported more than a decade ago. Its targeted net profit of Y490 billion represents about 30% of a record Y1.718 trillion Toyota posted in the fiscal year ended in March 2008. Before the global slowdown that year, which forced Toyota into the red in March 2009, it hadn't posted net profit below Y500 billion since March 2000.

For Toyota, home is where it hurts most. Whereas the auto maker expects to boost overseas production by 7% on the year to 4.36 million vehicles by March 31, it sees domestic production falling 1.4% to 3.16 million vehicles. The company's exposure to Japan, where it dominates nearly half the market, has become a major drag on profitability amid shrinking Japanese demand for cars and Toyota's commitment to maintaining a domestic production base of at least 3 million vehicles a year.

A surge in the yen over the past year has made it difficult for Toyota to export more cars, which would lessen the slack in domestic production capacity. Akio Toyoda, the company's president and grandson of Toyota's founder, has indicated that the auto maker cannot profitably export compact cars when the yen is worth less than Y90 to the dollar.

While sales volume fell in three of its largest markets--Europe, Japan and North America--during the three months from October, profits rose in all markets except Japan. For the full year, Toyota expects sales to be flat or higher in all markets including Japan, where the rebates had helped boost sales until their cut off in September. In particular, the company pointed to high demand for its cars in emerging markets as far afield as South Africa and Thailand--which Ijichi called a pillar of the company's future growth strategy.

To cope with the strong yen and weak domestic sales, Toyota is trying to extract more profits where it's most competitive. "We are trying to raise prices selectively, sell more higher profit margin vehicles and produce more in the markets where our sales are growing fastest," Ijichi explained.

In the quarter ended December, Toyota's revenue declined 12% to Y4.673 trillion from Y5.293 trillion and operating profit sagged 48% to Y99.07 from Y189.11 billion.

For the full fiscal year, the Japanese auto giant expects to see an operating profit of Y550 billion and sales of Y19.200 trillion. These projections are better than its previous forecast for an operating profit of Y380 billion and sales of Y19.000 trillion.

Toyota's earnings estimates for this fiscal year are based on its company's expected average yen rate for the year of Y86 to the dollar and Y112 to the euro.

Ijichi also said Tuesday that his company "welcomes" the planned merger between steel giants Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., which was announced last week. He said the proposed deal represents the birth of a global major that could be an effective partner as Toyota expands its operations around the world.

Feb 3rd - Japanese Government To Set Rules For 'Supercompacts' In FY12

The government will in fiscal 2012 introduce standards for "supercompacts," two-seat passenger cars in a smaller class than minivehicles.

The move comes amid rising demand among people who drive only in the city and from older Japanese seeking an easy way to run neighborhood errands.

Nissan unveiled its Land Glider, a two-seater electric vehicle, at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009.

The Transport Ministry plans to set crash-safety standards in fiscal 2011 and submit a bill to revise the current legislation at a Diet session in fiscal 2012. Given that supercompacts are not allowed on highways, the ministry will likely relax safety standards for such autos, a move that could reduce their production costs.

The road transport vehicle law and other regulations define the standards for passenger cars with four or more seats and minivehicles that can carry up to four passengers. These cars are allowed to drive on highways and must meet certain safety standards, such as the ability to protect passengers from serious injury in head-on collisions at speeds of 50kph.

The current regulations also cover one-seat minicars, which are mostly used for delivery services. But because these vehicles are prohibited by law from carrying cargo heavier than 30kg, they can be impractical for shopping and other activities.

Domestic carmakers believe there is excellent potential demand for two-seaters. Not only do they appeal to elderly people looking for a convenient tool for running errands, but they also offer the benefit of lower carbon-dioxide emissions and can help ease traffic congestion in cities.

Nissan Motor Co. presented a two-seat electric concept car designed specifically for city driving at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009, and continues to fine-tune it.

Feb 2nd - Honda Climbs To No. 2 In Market Capitalisation

Honda Motor Co. had the second-highest market capitalization of publicly traded companies in Japan on Tuesday, passing such firms as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and NTT DoCoMo Inc. on its way up from fifth place a year earlier.

While Toyota Motor Corp. remains well ahead of the pack, automakers now occupy the top two spots.

Honda shares gained 2% to close at 3,545 yen on Tuesday, a day after the firm upgraded its earnings forecast for the fiscal year through March 31. Its market cap swelled to 6.42 trillion yen, beating the previous day's No. 2 firm, DoCoMo, by about 28 billion yen.

The stock market has welcomed Honda's ability to weather a strong yen, underscored by its October-December results. In addition to cutting costs, the automaker has expanded operations in emerging markets, mainly through local production.

"I give high marks to Honda for essentially logging 140 billion yen in operating profit when the dollar was at about 83 yen," Goldman Sachs Japan Co. analyst Kota Yuzawa said.

The top 10 firms included others faring well in emerging markets, among them Mitsubishi Corp. at No. 8 and Nissan Motor Co. at No. 9. Automakers also got a boost from a North American recovery.

After hovering around No. 15 at the turn of the century, Honda regularly showed up in fifth or sixth place by 2009. Tuesday marked its first time at No. 2 dating back to the late-1980s economic bubble.

Jan 28th - Nissan To Market 1st Non Minivehicle From Another Maker In Japan

Seeking a cost-effective way to boost its lineup in the shrinking Japanese market, Nissan Motor Co. said it will market a Mazda Motor Corp. minivan under its own brand.

In the first deal under which Nissan has put out a non-mini vehicle model from another car maker on its home turf, the two car makers said Friday they will expand the scope of their current manufacturing supply pact so that Mazda starts supplying its Premacy midsize sporty minivan to Nissan from May for the Japanese market.

The two companies said in a joint release that they will finalize details such as how many minivans to supply from now on.

The deal is latest in a recent trend where domestic and overseas auto makers have deepened their cooperation in order utilize their partner's strength to compensate for other shortcomings.

Nissan and its French peer Renault SA formed an alliance with Daimler AG last April. Nissan is in a vehicle production partnership with Suzuki Motor Corp and just last month announced an expanded vehicle supply alliance with Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

For Mazda, the agreement is the first tie-up announcement since Ford Motor Co. last November relinquished its position as the top shareholder of the Japanese car maker. Ford remains a strategic partner for Mazda.

Under the current mutual vehicle supply pact, Mazda provides the Bongo van and truck to Nissan, which is sold as the Nissan Vanette van and truck. Nissan supplies the AD and AD Expert commercial vehicles to Mazda, which sells it as the Mazda Familia van.

Jan 27th - Toyota's Japan Output Up 17% In 2010, 1st Rise In 3 Years

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its domestic output increased 17.6% from the previous year to 3.28 million units in 2010, marking the first rise in three years.

The improvement is attributable to strong domestic sales of Prius hybrid vehicles helped by the government's sales incentives for purchasing cars deemed environmentally friendly. Exports also expanded broadly.

Overseas output expanded 21.3% to a record 4.34 million units, rising for the first time in three years, pushed up by production in China and Southeast Asia. The carmaker saw output growth overseas, excluding Europe.

Toyota Motor's group domestic production, including output by Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd, expanded 14.2% to 4.04 million units, rising for the first time in three years.

Group overseas output increased 22.2% to a record 4.51 million units, the first improvement in three years.

Jan 27th - NTT Group To Help Firms Embrace Electric Vehicles

The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. group plans to assist businesses in adopting electric vehicles by providing the infrastructure and services necessary to do so.

To commercialize this business within two years, the group will launch a car-sharing trial in March. The car-sharing service will combine such technology as NTT Facilities Inc.'s rapid chargers with NTT Data Corp.'s  authentication systems.

The car-sharing program will use rapid chargers installed at NTT buildings.

Charging stations will be installed at two NTT group buildings. Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s  i-MiEV and Nissan Motor Co.'s  Leaf electric cars will be deployed.

The EVs will be fitted with telecommunications equipment using the cellular phone lines of NTT DoCoMo Inc.  GPS technology will allow the EVs' locations and other details to be checked online.

This will let the group offer a bundle of services, including call centers to help operate chargers and assist with breakdowns, driver recognition technology using telecommunications networks, and charger infrastructure.

Users can borrow the EVs when they want on an hourly basis. The cost is targeted at around 800 yen per hour, which is on a par with current car-sharing prices.

Based on the trial results, the NTT group will commercialize the leasing of EVs and chargers to businesses, as well as market support services to outside firms.

EVs are increasingly being adopted by local governments, but have yet to spread widely among businesses. Companies say that initial costs, charging infrastructure and maintenance are an obstacle for using EVs for business purposes.

Jan 26th - Mazda Developing Demio-Based Electric Car

Mazda Motor Corp. said Monday it is developing an electric vehicle based on its Demio subcompact car, with an eye toward releasing it for leasing services in spring 2012.

The planned electric car will have a driving range of 200 kilometers and will be leased mainly to local government and corporate users, Mazda said.

''Electric vehicles are useful for people who travel within a short distance,'' Mazda President Takashi Yamanouchi said at a press conference in Tokyo.

The Demio-based electric vehicle is expected to be sold for 2.5 million to 3 million yen if government subsidies are taken into account.

Continuing research and development efforts for electric vehicles designed for short commuting use in cities, the lease program will help Mazda enhance its knowledge of technological and other requirements for electric cars, the automaker said.

Jan 26th - Toyota: To Recall Total Of 1.7 Million Vehicles Worldwide

Toyota Motor Corp.  said Wednesday that it will recall a total of 1.705 million vehicles worldwide due to faulty parts including defective fuel devices.

The car maker said the global recalls include 1.284 million vehicles to be recalled in Japan and a combined 421,000 vehicles in North America, Europe and other markets.

There have been no injuries or accidents reported related to the faulty parts, a Toyota spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman declined to comment on the cost of conducting the latest recall.

Jan 24th - Sekisui House To Offer EV Charger As Standard Feature

Sekisui House Ltd.'s single-family homes will come standard with 200-volt outlets for electric vehicles and hybrid plug-ins beginning next month.

The built-in outlet will add about 10,000 yen to the purchase price, a 10th of the cost of retrofitting a home after construction. The greater availability of chargers is seen as a key factor in the spread of these green cars.

Sekisui House will introduce the outdoor outlets in made-to-order homes and developer-built units for new contracts starting next month.

The homebuilder has focused on green features, including solar power generation systems. It teamed up with Nissan Motor Co. and 11 others last year in a pilot program connecting a technologically advanced home to a smart grid.

21st Jan - Mitsubishi to use Toshiba Battery For Commercial Electric Vehicle

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will use Toshiba Corp.'s lithium-ion batteries for an all-electric commercial minivehicle it will release in the autumn.

Toshiba will produce lithium-ion batteries for the Minicab MiEV at its Kashiwazaki plant.

Loaded with the new battery, which the carmaker chose for its long life and reasonable price, the Minicab MiEV will be capable of traveling up to 100 kilometers on a full charge.

The vehicle is expected to be priced at about 2.5 million yen, but the actual cost will likely fall below 2 million yen when government subsidies are included. Mitsubishi aims to sell 10,000 of the cars a year, targeting mainly parcel delivery firms and small businesses.

Toshiba will manufacture the batteries at its plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture.

Mitsubishi worked with GS Yuasa Corp. to produce lithium-ion batteries for its i-MiEV electric passenger vehicle. The automaker is trying to reduce battery costs -- which account for more than half the price of the car -- by using different battery suppliers for different car models.

Jan 20th - Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Carmakers Focus On Hybrids To Rev Domestic Sales

Leading Japanese automakers are seeking to expand their hybrid vehicle lineups to boost their slumping domestic sales following the end of a government program subsidizing purchases of cars deemed environmentally friendly.

Toyota-affiliated dealerships in central Tokyo continued to face weak demand in early January.

The end of the subsidy program in early September hurt domestic car sales, sending them down more than 20% year on year during the October-December quarter. Owing to the yen's strength, Japanese carmakers were unable to boost exports to offset the weak domestic sales.

Many car dealers and other industry insiders initially predicted sales would rebound from the slump in three or so months following the program's termination. But evidently this prediction was too optimistic.

And there have been no signs of recovery in the new year, either.

Incentives ineffective

Some dealerships have sought to rev up their sales by offering such incentives as free navigation systems and low-interest loans. But these incentives have been nowhere near as effective as hoped.

"The situation is beginning to get quite serious," said a representative of the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

The government subsidy program boosted domestic sales 7.5% on the year to 4.95 million vehicles last year, the first annual gain in six years. But, for the second straight year, the sales again failed to hit 5 million units.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association forecasts Japanese auto demand will weaken another 10% or so to 4.46 million units this year. That is below even the 4.6 million vehicles sold in 2009, when fallout from the global financial crisis sharply dampened demand.

The forecast level would be less than 60% of the peak demand reached in 1990.

Toyota Motor Corp. aims for sales of 1.3 million units in Japan this year, down 17% on the year. It expects a bigger fall than the industry average because its product lineup is skewed toward regular passenger cars and other vehicles, a class of vehicles larger than minicars that owners must register. Demand for the bigger cars has fallen much more sharply than demand for minicars.

Even in this tough environment, Toyota aims for domestic output of 3.1 million vehicles this year, limiting a year-on-year fall to 5%. It hopes to achieve the target by increasing exports from last year's level.

But President Akio Toyoda conceded the company will likely face such strong headwinds as the yen's sustained appreciation.

"The yen's current strength is imposing such a heavy financial burden that no company can bear it for long," he said.

Hybrid hopes

Against this backdrop, Toyota is scheduled to add a station wagon model to its lineup of Prius hybrid vehicles as early as this summer.

Similarly, Honda Motor Co. will soon broaden its hybrid car offerings, adding station wagon and minivan models, so that hybrid sales will account for more than 20% of its total sales in Japan next fiscal year.

The rolling out of new hybrid models -- a type of car for which tax breaks are still given through spring 2012 under another government program -- is intended to boost slumping domestic sales.

It also points to the fact that along with fuel-efficient small cars, hybrids have become strong sellers in an otherwise weak domestic market.

19th Jan - Toyota Expands Prius Line

For much of the past decade, Toyota Motor Corp.  has been seen as the auto industry's technology leader, thanks to the Prius, its high-mileage hybrid compact.

Now, rivals seem to be jumping ahead by launching electric cars powered by batteries. But the Japanese auto maker is doubling its bet on its decade-old hybrid technology, which combines a traditional gasoline engine with an electric motor to boost fuel economy.

At the Detroit auto show that opened Monday, Toyota unveiled the first of a family of new models that will carry the Prius name, part of a move to establish the Prius as a brand in its own right. It's the first time the Prius badge will be used on more than one car.

Toyota's new variant, called the Prius v, will offer 50% more cargo space than the current Prius. It has a slightly higher roof line, with a shape similar to the company's Matrix wagon.

Two other hybrid vehicles that likewise will carry the Prius name are waiting in the wings: a smaller car, about the size of Toyota's Yaris subcompact, is expected next year, according to dealers who were briefed by the company in October. A plug-in Prius, whose battery can be recharged from a power outlet but which also will have a gasoline engine, is coming in 2012, the dealers said, giving Toyota a four-vehicle Prius suite.

Toyota is betting the strategy will spur sales in the U.S., where it sells more cars than anywhere else in the world. James Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales, said he believes the Prius nameplate will be the best-selling in the company's U.S. portfolio, surpassing the Camry, by 2020.

"Frankly, it will happen before 2020 - as we see fuel prices rise," Mr. Lentz said in an interview Monday at the auto show. "That's why our belief was that a Prius family of vehicles was the right thing to do."

Mr. Lentz said gasoline prices in the U.S. could reach $4 by this summer, driving interest in hybrids like the Prius, and that over the next decade they will push only higher.

Some analysts aren't as sold on Toyota's Prius expansion. "It's a good idea, but it would have been a great idea five years ago" when the brand had more cachet, said Alexander Edwards, an automotive consultant with research firm Strategic Vision, who gathers consumer data from a 300,000-person survey.

Even Toyota's own top executives in Japan hesitated to green-light the idea at first. Mr. Lentz said he has been pushing to expand the Prius lineup for the past four years before approval was given.

Nearly a decade ago the Prius was used to ferry Hollywood celebrities to the Oscars ceremony. In contrast, General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. now are generating buzz with their electric vehicles, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf.

The launch of the Prius family comes at a sensitive time for Toyota. A year ago, it had to briefly halt sales and production of some of its top-selling models in the U.S. because of defects that could cause the cars to accelerate suddenly. Eventually, it recalled more than eight million vehicles and was fined by U.S. safety regulators.

Toyota is still feeling the fallout. In 2010, its U.S. sales declined slightly while industrywide sales rose 11%. Toyota's market share fell to 15.2% from 17%, one of only three times that has happened in the last 30 years.

Creating sub-brands can be tricky, too. Toyota's own Scion line of small cars resonated with young buyers after it was introduced in the early 2000s, but has struggled for the last few years.

And it's unclear how many buyers Toyota can reel in with additional Prius vehicles. The original Prius is by far the largest selling hybrid, while others on the market have barely made a dent. Sales of Toyota's own Camry hybrid totaled only 14,587 cars in the U.S. last year - it sold 10 times as many Priuses.

All hybrids, both those made by Toyota and those from other manufacturers, made up just 2.5% of the U.S. market in 2010.

Still, the company's U.S. dealers are excited. "Presuming that fuel prices continue to rise, and I think everybody thinks they will, it will be a tremendous asset to Toyota" to have the Prius family, said Larry Kull, the president of Vineland Toyota in New Jersey. "At $4 a gallon, we'll be selling every single one that we build."

Jan 15th - Mitsubishi Motors Targets Brazil, India As Part Of Global Revamp

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will streamline production in developed nations while increasing output in emerging markets including Brazil and India under a retooled global strategy,

By redistributing business resources, the automaker aims to quickly lift global production to 1.5 million units, up 50% from fiscal 2009.

Mitsubishi Motors plans to spend an estimated 20-30 billion yen to obtain a stake of at least 50% in MMC Automotores do Brasil SA, a firm that currently handles its production in Brazil. The Brazilian firm's facilities will be expanded in fiscal 2011, with annual production capacity of four-wheel-drive vehicles and other cars to be doubled to at least 100,000 units.

A plant in Illinois will turn out the Outlander sport utility vehicle.

The automaker also plans to launch output in India. It is considering taking a stake in a firm to which it outsources production, while also exploring a joint venture in India with France's PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, which is eyeing a foray there. Mitsubishi Motors aims to manufacture low-priced vehicles based on minicars jointly developed with Nissan Motor Co.

Meanwhile, it will end production of vehicles tailored to the local market in Europe and the U.S. It will wind down by fiscal 2013 production of three North American models, including the Eclipse and the Endeavor, which are currently manufactured at a plant in the U.S. state of Illinois. Instead, the plant will produce the Outlander sport utility vehicle and other models designated as global strategic vehicles.

At the same time, Netherlands Car BV will end production of the European model Colt subcompact next year. Mitsubishi Motors has already frozen development of a next-generation Colt for Europe and will scale back production of finished vehicles starting in 2013.

Mitsubishi Motors will also overhaul domestic production, especially of minicars sold only in Japan. It will halt development of the Pajero Mini and other minicars currently manufactured at its Mizushima plant in Okayama Prefecture. Instead, the facility will churn out new models jointly developed through a tie-up with Nissan. The Nagoya plant will also scale back production of the Colt.

22nd Dec - Toyota To 'Maintain Domestic Production': President Akiko Toyoda

Toyota Motor Corp.  President Akio Toyoda vowed not to let Japan's domestic manufacturing base wither Wednesday, despite handicaps such as the strong yen.

"In theory, it is beyond the limits of companies to keep manufacturing goods in Japan if they are to survive, given disadvantages such as the yen's strength," Toyoda told reporters at an event to mark the release of the automaker's Vitz compact.

But he added: "Toyota has a sense of mission as a leading Japanese company not to let manufacturing disappear from this country," reiterating his commitment to maintain production and employment in Japan.

The automaker estimates it will make 3.1 million cars in Japan next year, down 5% from its estimate for 2010, and sell 1.3 million cars domestically, down 17%.

Toyoda said the end of subsidies for environmentally-friendly cars was tough, but that Toyota is grateful for the incentives because they allowed the company to it to generate cash until the program ended in September.