Toyota Forecasts 11M Units Sold in the US Next Year

Toyota is one of the companies that are hoping to see a massive recovery from the US market in 2010 and said it expects its local sales to top 11 million units next year. Bob Carter, Toyota US chief, said at the Reuters Autos Summit that Toyota is likely to register industry-wide U.S. light vehicle sales of 10.3 million to 10.4 million units in 2009, and top 11 million in 2010.

"We are seeing some mild but steady progressions," Carter said when talking about US sales. "In the month of August, with the government stimulus and 'cash for clunkers,' that gave the industry a shot in the arm."

"In the month of September and closing out October, we see ourselves back on the slow and steady improvement track."

Meanwhile, the US market is still representing a serious problem for Toyota, as the Japanese manufacturer struggles to cope with a massive recall due to incompatible floor mats. The company yesterday started sending letters to those affected, urging them to remove the mats entirely.

“The question of unintended acceleration involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been repeatedly and thoroughly investigated by NHTSA, without any finding of defect other than the risk from an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat,” Bob Daly, TMS senior vice president said in a release.

“Toyota takes public safety seriously. We believe our vehicles are among the safest on the road. Our engineers are working hard to develop an effective remedy that can help prevent floor mat interference with the pedal. As soon as it is ready, we will notify owners of the relevant models to bring their vehicle to a dealer for the necessary modification at no charge,” he added.