Toyota Motor Corp., poised to regain its title as the world's biggest carmaker this year, said its vehicle sales may rise 2 percent next year to a record, led by demand from overseas markets.
Global sales, including those of subsidiaries Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co., may climb to 9.91 million vehicles in 2013, the company said Wednesday. The maker of the Corolla and Camry sedan estimates sales expanded 22 percent to a record 9.7 million this year, the biggest gain since at least 2000.
Toyota is counting on the U.S. to boost sales next year, countering a projected 15 percent drop in Japan, where government subsidies to purchasers of fuel-efficient vehicles expired in September. The carmaker's 2013 forecast tops the previous high of 9.37 million units in 2007, before the global financial crisis sapped demand.