Toyota Motor is aiming to produce more
than 10 million vehicles in 2014, a bullish target that could boost other
industries in Japan, a report said on Saturday.
The Toyota group's production may fall
temporarily after April, when Japan increases the consumption tax from five to
eight percent, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.
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| A Toyota Motor employee fixes the main battery of the hybrid system on an assembly line for the Corolla Axio, at a plant of the company's subsidiary Toyota Motor East Japan, in Ohira village, Miyagi prefecture, on August 23, 2013 AFP/File / Toru Yamanaka |
But the impact of the tax hike should be
blunted by a lowering of the automobile acquisition tax that will also become
effective from the new fiscal year starting April, the Asahi said.
With Japan's economic recovery set to
remain solid, Toyota expects its production will pick up from the autumn to
achieve the target, the Asahi said.
"Toyota's bullish stance could cause
ripple effects to other industries," the Asahi said.
Toyota is Japan's biggest manufacturer.
Its health could affect steelmakers and parts suppliers of all kinds, as well
as the economy of the central Japan, where the company is based.
In 2013, Toyota aimed to produce a record
10.12 million vehicles, after it overtook General Motors in 2012 to regain the
title of world's biggest automaker.
The company built 9.3 million vehicles
between January and November, with Japanese media saying it was on target to
become the first automaker in the world to build more than 10 million units in
a year.
Toyota, whose group includes
small-vehicle maker Daihatsu and truck producer Hino, will make the 2014 annual
production target official by the end of the month, the Asahi said.
The consumption tax hike is expected to
lower Toyota's annual production by 10,000 units. The Japanese auto sector as a
whole was likely to reduce production by 20,000 to 30,000 units due to the tax
hike, the Asahi added.
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