Toyota announces plan to sell 9.85M vehicles in 2008

Toyota (TM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said Tuesday that it expects to increase worldwide vehicle sales by 5% to 9.85 million in 2008.

That figure includes the company's Daihatsu and Hino units. Toyota estimates that total worldwide production also will rise by 5%, to 9.95 million vehicles.
In a news release, Toyota also published expected results for all of 2007 and estimated worldwide sales of 9.36 million, up 6% from 2006.

Toyota plans to sell 9.85 million vehicles worldwide in 2008, the company said Tuesday, setting itself an ambitious target despite worries about a slowing U.S. car market as it tries to become the world's top automaker.
Toyota also said it plans to produce 9.95 million vehicles worldwide next year, up 5% from this year — the same projected on-year percentage jump for Toyota's global sales.
Its recent growth has put Toyota Motor Corp. on track to beat U.S.-based General Motors to become the world's biggest automaker by sales. GM has said it estimates this year's sales to total 9.3 million vehicles, against Toyota's estimate of 9.36 million sales.
Toyota's growth has been based in large part on the popularity of models such as the Camry sedan, Corolla subcompact and the Prius gas-electric hybrid.
Soaring gas prices have dramatically boosted the appeal of smaller fuel-efficient models that are Toyota's main strength.

General Motors has been fiercely fighting back, boosting its overseas business and could yet maintain the top industry spot which it has held for 76 years.
GM has not given a forecast for the number of vehicles it expects to produce or sell in 2008. But the Detroit automaker has the industry record for annual global vehicle sales at 9.55 million vehicles, sold by GM in 1978.
Toyota executives acknowledged Tuesday worries about the U.S. market, which has been hit by the subprime mortgage crisis and soaring oil prices. But they remained upbeat about increasing sales in the key U.S. market — projecting 2.64 million vehicles, edging up 1% from this year.
They were also bullish about prospects for emerging markets such as China, Russia and South America, while being conservative in expectations for Europe at a 2% increase to 1.27 million vehicles, and seeing sales in Japan remain flat at 1.6 million next year.
But Koji Endo, auto analyst with Credit Suisse in Tokyo, said next year will likely prove a challenge even for Toyota, as U.S. economic woes weigh on sales and profits.
But he said the overall optimism for sales growth was "reasonable," given Toyota's recent performance.
"These are targets Toyota is giving, not forecasts, and so they are reasonable," he said.
After the first nine months of this year, Toyota was — at 7.05 million vehicles sold worldwide — trailing GM's sales of 7.06 million vehicles for the same period. The final tally for this year's numbers won't be out until January next year.
GM's spokesman in Tokyo Michihiro Yamamori declined to comment, citing company policy to refrain from commenting on its rivals' targets.
Toyota also said it was preparing to start mass producing lithium-ion batteries for low-emission vehicles.
Lithium-ion batteries, already widely used in laptops and other gadgets, are smaller yet more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in gas-electric hybrids like the Prius now.
Lithium-ion batteries will not be used in the Prius, on sale for a decade and the most popular hybrid on the market, according to Toyota.
The lithium-ion battery will be used in a plug-in hybrid, which would recharge from a regular home socket, and travel longer as an electric vehicle than the Prius. Toyota has started tests on its plug-in hybrid, but has not shown a model using the new battery.
Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto, who oversees technology, said Toyota had developed the lithium-ion battery to a level that it is almost ready for mass production, although that won't start until sometime after next year.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said the hybrid will be a pillar of Toyota's growth in the years ahead, and he reiterated the plan to offer hybrid versions of all its models sometime after 2020.
As part of its strategy to be ecological and super-efficient in manufacturing — as well as with its products — Toyota will use solar energy and wind power to reduce global-warming emissions at what it called five "sustainable plants." The facility being built in Mississippi, set to be up and running in 2010, will be one such plant, Toyota said.

Weekend Surge May Not Rescue Retailers' Holiday Slump

American consumers, uneasy about the economy and unimpressed by the merchandise in stores, delivered the bleak holiday shopping season retailers had expected, if not feared, according to one early but influential projection.
Spending between Thanksgiving and Christmas rose just 3.6 percent over last year, the weakest performance in at least four years, according to MasterCard Advisors, a division of the credit card company. By comparison, sales grew 6.6 percent in 2006, and 8 percent in 2005.
“There was not a recipe for a pick up in sales growth,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis at MasterCard Advisors, citing higher gas prices, a slowing housing market and a tight credit market.
Strong demand at the start of the season for a handful of must-have electronics, like digital frames and portable GPS navigation systems trailed off in December. And robust sales of luxury products could not make up for sluggish sales of jewelry and women’s clothing.
What did eventually sell was generally marked down — once, if not twice — which could hurt retailers’ profits in the final three months of year. “Stores are buying those sales at a cost,” said Sherif Mityas, a partner at the consulting firm A.T. Kearney, who specializes in retailing.
A surge in spending during the weekend before Christmas may not have been enough to rescue Target Corp., Sears Holdings Corp. and Macy's Inc. from the slowest holiday spending season in five years.
MasterCard Inc.'s consulting unit said today that sales from Nov. 23 to Dec. 24 gained 3.6 percent. Spending in the week through Dec. 22 declined 2.2 percent, the fourth week of declines, even after sales increased almost 20 percent over the last weekend before Christmas, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said yesterday.
``It's not going to overcome the negative forecasts,'' Frederick Crawford, managing director at Southfield, Michigan- based AlixPartners LLP, said of the weekend in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``It's going to be a good start, a very weak midsection, and a strong finish.''
Gasoline at $3 a gallon and rising food prices have discouraged shoppers from spending during November and December, which account for 20 percent of retailers' annual revenue, according to the National Retail Federation in Washington. Target, the second-biggest U.S. discounter, said yesterday that sales at stores open more than a year may decline in December after customer visits slowed in the weeks after Thanksgiving.
Five-Year Low
Sales in November and December this year may rise 4 percent, the slowest growth since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation. ShopperTrak has predicted a 3.6 percent increase. MasterCard's holiday growth figure was the lowest in at least three years.
Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. chain of wholesale clubs, said the holiday season ``went well,'' the Wall Street Journal reported today. Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti didn't immediately return a call left at his Issaquah, Washington, office today.
Sales rose 19 percent from Dec. 21 to Dec. 23 as U.S. shoppers took advantage of discounts and extended hours, ShopperTrak said.
Less than one-fifth of consumers had finished their holiday shopping as of Dec. 16, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers in New York. J.C. Penney Co., Sears and Toys ``R'' Us Inc. tried to lure late buyers with discounts over the weekend, helping boost U.S. retailers' sales by 7.6 percent on Dec. 22, the Saturday before Christmas.
Chris Lewis, a cleaning-franchise owner, began shopping for his two children on Dec. 21, and may buy more items after Christmas.
Staying Frugal
``I try to stay kind of frugal,'' the 35-year-old resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, said. ``I'm not going to give everything I have in one day.''
Shoppers buying online led the growth in spending, with Internet sales gaining 22 percent from Nov. 23 though Dec. 24, Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at MasterCard Advisors, said in an interview today.
``If you were expecting this holiday season to stimulate a new ramp-up in growth, I think you'd be disappointed,'' McNamara said. said. ``I think the vast majority of people in the marketplace had modest expectations.''
Apparel rose 1.4 percent from a year ago, McNamara said. Men's clothing climbed 2.3 percent, while clothes for women fell 2.4 percent.
Luxury Gains
Luxury goods, excluding jewelry, rose 7.1 percent compared with the same period last year, and footwear sales increased 6 percent.
MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse surveys retailers across the U.S. Its figures are based on sales in the MasterCard network and estimates of other forms of payment, including checks and cash. MasterCard is the second-biggest U.S. credit- card company.
Last year's holiday season grew 6.6 percent over 2005's holidays. Two years ago, retail sales grew 8 percent from the previous year, MasterCard said.
Although Target's customer visits increased for the week ended Dec. 22, ``this increase was not sufficient to compensate for the unfavorable traffic trends that carried over into December from the week following Thanksgiving,'' the Minneapolis-based retailer said on a recorded call.

Merrill raising up to $6.2 billion:

Investment Contract :Merrill Lynch & Co. will raise up to $6.2 billion to be invested by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. and U.S.-based Davis Selected Advisers L.P., the investment bank said Monday.
Along with the private placement of common stock, Merrill (MER:Merrill Lynch & Co., IncNews, chart, profile, more Last: 53.90-1.64-2.95%
1:00pm 12/24/2007
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MER 53.90, -1.64, -2.9%) said it's selling its middle-market commercial finance business for an undisclosed amount. New York-based Merrill said the placement of newly issued stock is expected to close by mid-January. Chief Executive John Thain, who assumed Merrill's top position in November, said the private placement will bolster Merrill's capital position. Thain came to Merrill from NYSE Euronext (NYX:NYXNews, chart, profile, moreLast:
Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolioAnalyst Create alertInsiderDiscussFinancials Sponsored by:NYX, , ) more than one month ago, amid a difficult period during which Merrill sustained significant write-downs related to troubles in the U.S. housing market. The private placement also creates a strategic partnership with Temasek, Merrill said in a statement, describing Temasek as having "sizable investments across Asia, particularly in Singapore, China and India." Temasek will invest $4.4 billion in Merrill common stock, with the option to buy an additional $600 million in stock by March 2008. Its ownership position in Merrill won't exceed 10%, Merrill said. Davis, meanwhile, will make a "long-term investment" of $1.2 billion, Merrill said. Neither Temasek nor Davis will have any "role in the governance" of Merrill, the firm said. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings maintained a negative outlook on Merrill following news of the investment, saying in a statement that it believes "there is a high probability that additional losses will be recognized in fourth-quarter 2007 fiscal year which collectively may result in [the firm] posting a loss for its 2007 fiscal year." Fitch had lowered Merrill's long-term issuer default rating in October. Following an initial rise early in Monday's abbreviated trading session, Merrill shares closed nearly 3% lower, ending at $53.90. Also Monday, Merrill said it is selling Merrill Lynch Capital, the firm's middle-market commercial finance business, to GE Capital (GE:GENews, chart, profile, moreLast:
Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolioAnalyst Create alertInsiderDiscussFinancials Sponsored by:GE, , ) . Financial terms were not disclosed. Merrill's commercial real-estate finance unit is not part of the unit being sold, the firm said. Fox-Pitt Kelton said in a note to clients that the sale should "free about $1.3 billion [in] capital for Merrill. Thus, the total capital 'raise' is $7.5 billion." Fox-Pitt Kelton had previously estimated that Merrill's write-downs related to subprime and other troubled mortgage markets amounted to $8.6 billion. Merrill's sale of Merrill Lynch Capital "continues to signal that problems are significant, but that [management] is taking steps to get beyond it," the firm told clients