Toyota all set to zoom past GM !

It seems that the growing competition that Detroit based, General Motors, and other American automobile giants are facing from the Japanese and other Asian automakers have left them weak and shattered. Both GM and Ford have lost major ground in their domestic markets.

Toyota Motor Corp., which builds well-known brands such as Lexus and Scion, has a reputation of making reliable cars with superior gas mileage. It has been growing at a time when General Motors has been stumbling, losing .6 billion in the third quarter this year itself and watching its market share in North America being snatched from it right under its nose by Asian automakers such as Toyota and Honda.

Toyota expects to make 9.06 million vehicles in 2006, a 10-per-cent increase from the 8.25 million vehicles that it will make this year. Though these numbers include Toyota's subsidiaries, Hino, one of Japan's top truck-makers and Daihatsu Japan's second-largest mini-vehicle maker, even without them, Toyota is forecasting production of 8.11 million vehicles in 2006, up 10 per cent from 7.37 million vehicles in 2005. Although GM does not provide full-year production targets, but it is estimated to have built 6.7 million vehicles during the first three quarters of this year and expects to produce about nine million vehicles by year end.

While, GM has lost nearly 4 billion dollars so far this year, Toyota has proved to be the biggest moneymaker, with analysts predicting net profit of ¥1.245 trillion (10.7 billion dollars) for the financial year ending March 2006. Analysts also believe Toyota has a good chance of actually surpassing its sales estimates for 2006 due to strong demand for Toyota and Lexus brand cars, while General Motors, faced with a major sales downturn may have to reduce its production levels. In its desperate attempt to regain lost ground, there are reports that GM planning to restructure its operations in a bid to keep up with the competition.

It plans to close 12 plants by 2008. The drastic step will lead to a loss of nearly 30,000 jobs, which is nearly 27 per cent of its North American manufacturing payroll. While Toyota shares, have gained about 50 percent from the beginning of this year, GM shares fell to an 18-year low of 19.63 dollars on the news but rallied as trading progressed. GM shares were down 84 cents, or 4 percent, at .21 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. They have traded in the range of 20.60 dollars to 40.82 dollars over the past 52-weeks.