TOKYO: Toyota said it expected group-wide global vehicle sales to stay flat in 2016 at 10.11 million vehicles, likely keeping it ahead of rivals Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co as the world’s top-selling automaker.
Global sales at the group, which includes mini-vehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd, would likely total 10.10 million vehicles this year, it said in a statement today.
Group-wide production is likely to rise about 1 percent to 10.20 million vehicles, Toyota said.
Meanwhile, Hyundai was also downbeat, saying that the outlook for the global auto market is “not bright” next year, indicating 2016 will be another challenging year for the world’s fifth-largest automaker.
Speaking to the heads of the automaker’s overseas units, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo said on Tuesday that growth this year was constrained by a weak global economy, the economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest auto market China and a decline in emerging market demand.
“Considering many leading indicators, the outlook for next year’s auto market is also not bright,” he said. His remarks were first reported by Yonhap news agency and later confirmed by a company spokesman.
Hyundai Motor Co, which combined with sister firm Kia Motors Corp is the world’s fifth-largest car-maker, posted its seventh-straight decline in quarterly profit in October.
Chung told the gathering that the company must build on the launch of new eco-friendly vehicles and the rollout of its high-end Genesis brand, Yonhap said.
Keyword: Toyota and Hyundai see more downside in 2016