TOYOTA

Toyota Motor Corp expects its European sales to grow five to 10 percent in 2009, after a 5 percent rise forecast for next year, a top executive of the automaker's regional operations said on Tuesday.

Carmakers wasted no time trying to show off their new-found green credentials -- as well as their glittering profits -- at the start of the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp. should hit its target of 5-percent U.S. sales growth this year despite a recent slowdown and building concerns about the knock-on effect of the subprime mortgage crisis, the automaker's chief financial officer said on Monday.

Nippon Steel Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. have agreed to price rises of more than 10 percent for car-use steel, media said, raising the prospect of steelmakers' earnings upgrades later this year.

Chrysler has lured another high-profile executive, this time from Asia, into its ranks on Friday, following a similar move a day earlier as the company seeks to revive its struggling operations.

Chrysler added Toyota's top American executive to its ranks on Thursday, hiring James Press as its new vice-Chairman and President in a bid to steer the newly private, but struggling company as it attempts a comeback.

Chrysler LLC has named longtime Toyota Motor Corp North American executive Jim Press as a new vice chairman and president.

Major automakers posted mixed U.S. sales for August on Tuesday, as executives cautioned the embattled industry was facing reverberations from a weaker housing market and the shakeout in subprime lending. Industrywide sales for August were tracking at 16.1 million vehicles on an annualized rate, down from 16.2 million a year earlier.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it expects its group's worldwide sales to expand to 10.4 million vehicles in 2009, up 18 percent from last year, as it grabs a bigger share in mature markets and taps growing demand in China and other emerging countries.

The head of Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, said on Thursday he expects further cooperation between truck affiliates Isuzu Motors Ltd and Hino Motors Ltd to better compete in global markets.

Tokyo shares slipped in thin trade on Tuesday as investors watchful of currency moves sold Toyota Motor Corp and other exporters on a stronger yen, and banks and brokerage firms fell after their U.S. peers slipped the previous session.

Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp is looking to launch a small car within two years, and the first production facility may be in India, its chairman said on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp aims to sell around 10.4 million vehicles worldwide in 2009, up 18 percent from last year as it grabs market share in North America and taps growing demand in China and other emerging economies, business daily Nikkei reported on Wednesday.

India's Jindal Stainless Ltd. is at a preliminary stage of a $60 million investment for construction of a steel mill in Russia's north-western Leningrad region.

General Motors Corp.'s Buick brand tied Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus for top ranking in a widely watched U.S. survey of vehicle reliability released on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) will continue to grow in the U.S. market, but at a slower rate than it has in the past, and is considering targeting young consumers with a premium small car, the automaker's North American sales chief said on Thursday.I don't think the double-digit growth of the past few years will continue because we are such a large part of the U.S. market now, Jim Lentz told Reuters in an interview.On Wednesday, Lentz said Toyota is on track to post a U.S. sales increase of 5 to 6 percent in 2007. The automaker is now neck and neck with General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in global sales, and is expected to become the world's largest automaker this year.For next year, we will definitely grow, but we have to reevaluate the market in the fourth quarter to see how much we could grow, he said. Toyota sold 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. market in 2006 and had more than 17 percent of the market in July.Through July, Toyota has surpassed Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) -- excluding Ford's luxury brands, which it is looking to sell -- to become the second-largest automaker behind GM in the United States.As the Japanese automaker has grown in the United States, it has entered every segment with a full line of cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, including a luxury line with its Lexus brand and an experimental youth-oriented line with its Scion brand.When asked about what Toyota might offer next for U.S. consumers, Lentz said the automaker is looking at the premium small car segment -- a category most automakers in the United States have stayed away from so far.Lentz said Toyota has been studying a process called urbanization in which large numbers of people in their 20s and early 30s are moving into cities.These people have money and they need cars, Lentz said. They don't have long commutes, and they don't have too much space to park. That's where we see the need for a premium small car.BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest premium carmaker, is the only automaker to succeed with a small luxury car in the U.S. market -- with its Mini Cooper. The Mini shows that a small car does not have to be a cheap car, Lentz said.The Mini subcompact has four models in the U.S. market, ranging in base price from $18,700 to $26,000.In contrast, Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) charges a base price of $13,850 for its Fit subcompact car, while Toyota charged $12780 for its Scion xA, which it stopped making last year. It charges $14,550 for its new Scion xD. GM's base price for its Aveo subcompact starts at $10,560.I think it's time for more luxury-type small cars, Lentz said. He declined to provide any details on Toyota's plans, saying: We are looking at that, and that's all I can say.RAPID GROWTH, SLOW ON DEALERSLentz said Toyota plans to maintain only two channels at dealers even as it grows rapidly in the United States. The automaker has been admired for its dealership efficiency at a time when rivals GM and Chrysler LLC, just purchased by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (CBS.UL: Quote, Profile, Research), have been criticized for having too many brands and dealerships.With only two brands -- Toyota and Lexus -- in the U.S. market, the automaker launched its youth-oriented Scion brand in late 2003, pulling it into the Toyota channel and keeping only the Lexus brand under a separate dealership.We are not considering a new brand, but if we were to have one, we would not increase our channels, Lentz said.

Toyota Motor Corp. expects industrywide U.S. auto sales to slow for the second straight year in 2007, with a rebound beginning in 2008, the company's U.S. sales chief said on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp has told its parts makers that it is planning global output of over 10 million vehicles in 2008, up more than 6 percent from its plans this year, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s quarterly operating profit rose by a better-than-expected 32 percent as brisk overseas sales combined with a softer yen to make up for chronic weakness in domestic demand. Toyota, the world's biggest and most profitable automaker, left its cautious annual forecasts unchanged, as expected.

Clean technology is evolving from environmental issue to big business, opening a world of opportunities for companies, entrepreneurs and investors who see a chance to -- yes -- clean up, says a new book.

Ford Motor Co and Chrysler Group posted weaker-than-expected U.S. sales for July on Wednesday, underscoring the pressure on auto sales from a weaker housing market and higher gas prices.