The executives at Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) must live in a world all their own. They have maintained the forecast for their worldwide vehicle sales in the face of a massive downturn in the US auto market and weakness in Japan and parts of Europe.
The big Japanese car company finally bowed to reality and cut its prediction for units sales, but not by much. According to MarketWatch, "The automaker forecast sales for the full year in the lower 9.5 million unit range, down from the previously targeted goal of 9.85 million cars and trucks."
While the revision is a defeat for Toyota, it is also an odd acknowledgment of how well its does with car sales around the world and how clever it has been in designing and marketing new cars. In the US, where most auto firms are dying, Toyota has had a smashing success with its Prius hybrid. It cannot make enough of the cars to keep up with demand.
With fuel prices rising around the world, Toyota's small, fuel efficient, high-quality cars continue to sell well in regions where the price of gas has gone out of control. Europe comes to mind.
The modesty of the Toyota revision is a sign of how well it will do relative to other car companies both this year and next.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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