Toyota announced that demand is up so much that they’re doubling production…in India.
Toyota will invest $220 million into its Indian operations, with the goal of increasing production to 310,000 vehicles per year by 2013. Toyota added that it’s all types of vehicles that are enjoying increased demands, from economy cars to SUVs and mini vans.
India is one of the fastest growing car markets, last year overall sales grew by 34%. Toyota admitted that it does not expect high sales in Japan, and sales in the U.S. are not good.
For the United States Toyota has reported some confusing sales numbers. At the beginning of 2011 they reported an increase in sales, yet as of the end of May, Toyota says U.S. sales dropped by 27.9%. That’s based on “daily sales rate (DSR) basis”, when you look at their raw volume it gets worse, sales down 33.4%.
How about Toyota’s divisions? Lexus reported a drop of 46.3%, and TMS Hybrids sales dropped 49.2%.
Of course Toyota officials blame the March 11 disasters in Japan for causing part of the sales decrease, by interrupting the production of parts. But, I remember reading an article that said there were already dockyards full of Toyotas, both in Japan and the U.S., because there was a lack of orders from U.S. dealers.