Report: Toyota cutting 2011 global hybrid production goal

Japan's Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reports that Toyota's hybrid production plans for 2011 may fall well short of the company's targeted one million units. The report, drawing information from an unidentified source who is closely entwined with Toyota's production process, states that company recently released its hybrid plans to major suppliers and the anticipated production for 2011 was pegged at 740,000 units.

Whereas most automakers would be ecstatic if they could produce and sell 740,000 hybrids per year, Toyota would not. 740,000 units amounts to a seven percent rise over this year's anticipated hybrid sales and a 48-percent increase over the company's reported numbers for 2009, but, it is 26 percent short of Toyota's targeted goal of one million hybrids a year. A Toyota spokesman said that the company does not discuss future production plans and we're cautious believing the unidentified source this time around. Just days ago, Toyota announced that it would spend millions to retool a Japanese plant to ramp up hybrid production numbers and the company has frequently reported increasing sales of hybrid models, which suggests that one million is certainly within reach next year. Additionally, tightening emissions standards across the globe lead us to believe that Toyota will continue to sell more hybrids year after year.

[Source: Green Car Advisor, Reuters]