Toyota's exports will set new record

By the time its fiscal year ends in March 31, 2006, Toyota expects it will have exported 1.04 million vehicles to North America. That's up 20 percent from last year and a new export record for Toyota, but that doesn't mean that the units coming out of the company's North American plants are dropping — in fact, North American production for Toyota is up 6.2 percent, still making up about 62 percent of the total vehicles it sells in North America.
Meanwhile, Toyota's expected global sales of 8.03 million units edges it up even more uncomfortably close to GM's 8.7 million units worldwide, and as it continues to invest like crazy in building capacity, analysts put Toyota in the Big 1 slot within the next few years.