Toyota cuts its SE Asian automobile sales forecasts

Toyota cuts its SE Asian automobile sales forecasts

TOKYO (Reuters): Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it was in the process of cutting its forecasts for sales in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia due to tough market conditions caused by regional economic woes.

"Overall demand in Thailand is likely to fall short of 200,000 vehicles in calendar 1998," Motonobu Takemoto, Toyota's general manager in charge of its Asian business, told Reuters in an interview.

In November, Toyota, Japan's number one carmaker, forecast that Thai vehicle demand would be 240,000 units in 1998, compared with an actual 363,000 in 1997, which was down 38 percent from a year earlier.

Takemoto also said vehicle demand in Indonesia in 1998 may fall below 170,000 units. "But it is still uncertain. It is hard to forecast because it is still unclear where the rupiah will stabilize," he said.

Toyota said in November that it expected Indonesian vehicle demand to be at 300,000 in 1998, against 387,000 in 1997, when demand rose 17 percent from a year earlier.

"We earlier forecast overall demand in the Philippines at 140,000 units in 1998 but it is likely to be around 100,000," Takemoto said.

In November, the firm forecast overall vehicle demand in Malaysia would remain at 330,000 units in 1998 but this was now likely to be around 150,000 units, Takemoto said.

"At Toyota we are now revising our business plans on sales and production in those areas and the estimate for overall demand in the regions. We will be able to finalize the plan in one week or ten days," Takemoto said.

Even though Toyota had cut production in those areas, it had no plans to cut employee numbers, with the exception of part- timers, he said. "Market conditions in those ASEAN nations are very severe. some companies (in the countries) may go into bankruptcy if we leave them alone," Takemoto said.

He said both carmakers and component makers in Japan were trying to find ways to boost exports of Thai-made products to markets outside Thailand.

"An increase in capital, an easing in terms of payment, a review of local vehicle selling prices, etcetera, are on the table and we are now considering ways to support the ASEAN units," Takemoto said.

In December, Toyota announced a plan to boost exports of Hilux pickup trucks made at its Thai unit to 20,000 units per year from mid-1998, mainly to destinations in Oceania. It also said it was shifting output of Oceania-bound Hilux trucks to the unit from Japan.

Toyota exports about 21,000 Hilux pickup trucks a year from Japan to Oceania.

The Thai unit exported about 600 Hilux pickup trucks to neighboring countries in 1997.

Takemoto said Toyota's sales in Thailand were likely to fall short of a planned 60,000 units in 1998.

Earlier Toyota forecast Thai sales of 72,000 in 1998, compared with 107,000 sold in 1997 when its sales fell 36 percent from a year earlier.

The firm said its sales of vehicles in Indonesia may be less than 46,000 units this year. It had forecast sales of 72,000 in 1998, compared with an actual 99,000 sold in 1997, up 27 percent from a year earlier.

Takemoto said Toyota's sales in Philippines were likely to be revised downward from a projected 24,000 units for 1998, compared with a earlier estimate of 33,000. Toyota sold 33,000 in Philippines in 1997, down 21 percent from a year earlier.