Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it was increasing production of select vehicles after inventory levels dropped to a point that dealers stepped up orders.
Toyota division executive Bob Carter said the company will boost production of the Camry sedan and the Rav4 for the next four months. Since last summer, the company has been ratcheting back production at its North American factories to adjust inventory to slumping sales.
"Although our April sales weren't much to call home about, there are signs that the industry sales contraction is nearing its end," Mr. Carter said in a conference call. "We are also encouraged by several economic indicators that point toward a modest recovery."
As such, Toyota expects that 10 million vehicles will be purchased in the U.S. this year, compared with 13 million last year, and above the current annual selling rate estimated to be in the low- to-mid 9 million vehicles. In April, Toyota sales fell 42% from a year ago.
Last week, Ford Motor Co. announced a slight increase in production of its midsize sedans in an effort to gain market share from its struggling competitors.
In contrast, Chrysler LLC, which filed for bankruptcy Thursday, is idling its 12 assembly plants for 60 days. General Motors Corp. is reducing production by 190,000 vehicles in the second and third quarters by shutting down 13 assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada for as long as nine weeks.
"We're confident that we're going to maintain or even grow our market share as we move through 2009," said Toyota's Mr. Carter. He said the company has reduced inventory to an acceptable level of 58 days' supply.
