Toyota Plans Record Production in 2012

Even before it has finished restoring its domestic production to normal levels, Toyota is making plans to produce a record 8.8 million vehicles worldwide in fiscal 2012 with new production capacity in China, India, Brazil and the United States, according to plans revealed to its partners earlier this week.

Its 2012 target is 1.1 million more vehicles than the 7.72 million Toyota expects to build in this fiscal year ending next March 31. The key to meeting that goal are a number of new plants.

This fall a new plant will open in Mississippi to add 150,000 to Toyota’s U.S. production capacity. In 2012 Toyota will open new plants in China and Brazil with a combined production capacity of 170,000 units. Two existing plants in India will also see production increased substantially next year, bringing the total output of overseas factories to about 5.4 million vehicles. That would amount to over 60 percent of the company’s total global capacity, an increase over 2011 projections.

Domestic production is expected to hit 3.4 million vehicles in fiscal 2012, about 300,000 more than that projected for the current fiscal year. About half the domestically-built vehicles will go to overseas markets, though that number could slip if the yen continues to appreciate against the dollar and other major currencies.

Toyota’s production reached a high-water mark of 8.69 million units in fiscal 2007. Production fell to 7.1 million units in fiscal 2008, the year of the global financial meltdown.