Toyota outlines recall fiasco new vision after

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp is aimed at an auto industry first of annual sales of 10 million vehicles by 2015 reach, even if he finds that too-rapid growth of the root was recall fiasco.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda gave the figure 10 million Wednesday at the terms of the company "global vision" in his first major strategy announcement since the recall crisis, the a year and a half ago taken.

The Japanese automaker, the worldwide turnover reported 8.42 million vehicles last year - 30,000 of more than General Motors co. 8.39 million. Toyota dethroned as world's no. 1 for 76 years held a position GM car manufacturers of vehicle sales in the year 2008 - GM.

At a Tokyo hotel said Toyoda of the car manufacturer wants to make millions of customers happy, and even, denied that he was to give a numerical sales target. He repeatedly stressed goals such as quality, customer satisfaction and solid profits.

Toyota, which models, hopes power the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury "as soon as possible" to achieve an annual operating profit of 1 trillion yen ($ 12 billion), even if the yen remains strong and vehicle sales drop by 20 percent, said Toyoda.

The company forecast operating profit of 550 billion yen ($ 6.6 billion) for the financial year to 31 March.

Toyoda said that the vision was based on what its quality problems and the sales of the global financial crisis 2009 hammer learned the car manufacturers.

Analyst Jesse Toprak, Vice President of industry trends and insights in TrueCar.com, said that the vision was too short to specialties such as model plans and marketing strategies, in the light of the recent gains of rival US car manufacturers, as well as South Korea's Hyundai.

"It was a bit too wishy-washy." We need more concrete examples of what needs to be done "he said in a telephone interview." "There was a lot of wishful thinking."

Still, Toprak said 10 million annual sales of vehicles was not impossible for Toyota - as long as it up with exciting came model developed and successfully the quality is beyond doubt.

Since the end of 2009, has included Toyota recall after recall, a wide range of defects including faulty floor mats, sticky gas pedals and errors in brakes software, balloon rides, more than 14 million vehicles worldwide.

The company paid the US Government a record $48.8 million in fines for using three callbacks. Toyota faces dozens of complaints from owners in the United States, including deaths in connection with defects.

In the last month closed U.S. regulators their 10-month investigation to clear Toyota electronic error and find that mechanical problems of the callbacks care covered by the unintended acceleration cases.

The company said created quality problems when it came at a time of rapid growth.

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Toyoda said the automakers, the Board of directors be reduced from 27 to 11, but the number of executives from abroad is on 15 of 13, to make faster decision making and to more responsive to regional needs to increase.

In an unusual personal move, Toyoda's predecessor Katsuaki Watanabe - as a key figure in the go-go growth that predated the quality lapses - be withdraw from the Board of directors within the streamlining of the management. The resignation is enabled, after a general meeting for June set. Past Presidents have stayed on longer and Watanabe's predecessor Fujio Cho remains on the Board.

Toyota will also empower their areas, including the North America, around the development and production of the Camry sedan, better just centered on their needs, he said. Appeared on criticism about how Toyota was initially slow in responding to the problems of quality, degradation of the image damage following answer.

The car manufacturers focus more on emerging markets for new growth, 50 percent of sales from those Nations, with the aim to from the current 40 percent.

It said more environmentally friendly vehicles are another pillar for the future planning 10 more hybrid models by 2015.

Toyota announced, hybrid layouts, which are two new, larger versions of his hit Prius on sale in Japan next month. The five-seater version will go on sale in North America this year. The seven, packed with a new lithium ion battery, will go on sale in Europe and in the next year. Prices and performance have not yet announced.

"I want to make good cars that every smile, Toyota," reporters Toyoda.

He said that each region will work harder in the reach sales growth to ensure that quality is not compromised. He said Toyota was not chase figures.

"I was only a question answer", he said when pressed about why he had given the number 10 million vehicles.

Another big change last visions, where the numbers game was great, was that the latest in English, was written, the Toyoda said was international language in the world.

Toyoda often switched to the English during the presentation, with phrases such as "Smiles of customers around the world," and "our commitment to quality and continuous innovation".

"This vision of what kind of society, we are our values and the road, what kind of society we want to be, said Toyoda."

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