Toyota , long a positive stalwart of auto industry sales charts, is looking at posting its first annual decline since the 20th century. Analysts expect Toyota’s sales to drop roughly 2 percent by the end of 2008 compared to last year’s numbers, putting the automaker’s global sales around 8.3 million cars and trucks.
Japan’s Nikkei business newspaper reports that the Toyota group as a whole – which also includes subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino – will top out at around 9.3 million vehicles sold, still down about 700,000 from 2008 figures.
Initially, Toyota had predicted sales of 9.85 million across the globe, but that number was later revised to 9.5 million and has apparently been internally lowered to around 8.3 million. Last year, Toyota sold 8.43 million Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles across the globe.
