NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. aims to raise its global sales ratio for areas other than Japan, Europe and the United States to 50 percent from the current 40 percent, a senior company official said Monday, noting the automaker's focus on emerging economies as key sources of potential growth.
"There is no such thing as being profitable in developed nations while not being profitable in emerging economies," Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo said, indicating the firm will take steps such as cost reductions to attain its goal without sacrificing profitability.
Toyota plans to increase sales of cars like the Vitz compact in markets such as China, Brazil and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as it faces signs that sales in industrialized countries have peaked.
Funo ruled out producing extremely low-priced cars as a means to boost sales, saying, "We will not gain market share through a price war."
Toyota sold about 3.7 million vehicles worldwide in the January-June period, of which about 1.51 million were sold in areas other than Japan, Europe and the United States.