Toyota: sales down but market share up

Even as Ford, Chrysler and GM all reported significant losses through the first half of 2008, Toyota managed to increase market share to 16.8% and post a $3.8 billion profit for the second quarter. But that's not enough to keep the company from predicting it will see total sales volume decline year-on-year for the first time since 1991.

Toyota recently revised its global sales targets for 2008, adjusting the total down from the 9.85 million cars it had expected at the start of the year to a more realistic 9.5 million, which would still represent an increase of about 130,000 cars over last year's global sales. In the U.S., however, Toyota is only predicting 2.45 million units sold for 2008, compared to 2007's tally of 2.6 million it sold across its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The company is still finding the positive in the predicted outcome, however, noting that market share will be up 0.5%. "We will not match 2007 sales," said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of Toyota's U.S. sales division. "But our share will grow: We will have a bigger piece of a smaller pie."

Carter also said he is confident that the pickup truck segment will regain momentum next year, and that the company will be resuming Tundra production at its San Antonio plan in early 2009, though it will no longer be building Tundras in the Indiana plant. The shift away from Tundra at the Indiana plant is what the company is leveraging to get the Highlander into production six months ahead of schedule, as we reported earlier this week.