June 2, 2008 – 8:55 am
The North American auto market, which is the world’s largest, is under a lot of pressure these days. Consumers are paying $4.00 per gallon for gas, and are not feeling optimistic about their economic security. This is never the type of climate where auto makers do well, so it should come as no surprise that Toyota is expecting lower sales.

Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota’s president, told the Financial Times newspaper that he was “not sure” that increased sales of smaller cars, such as its Yaris and Corolla models and the Prius hybrid, would make up for the decline in sales of sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks.
“As of now we haven’t changed our original annual plan yet, but we may have to scale back,” Watanabe told FT, adding that Toyota would revisit its U.S. forecast at a midyear business review later this month.
Toyota sales in the U.S. are already down 3.3% for the year. Still, the company has done better than the auto industry at large, which experience an 8.9% decline during the same period.
Tough times in the U.S. auto market have affected all major manufactures in 2008.
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