Toyota decline expected

Toyota Motor Corp. will post its first decline in annual global sales in a decade this year, a Japanese newspaper predicted Wednesday.

Japan’s largest automaker will likely sell 8.3 million units in 2008 on the parent level — excluding subsidiaries and affiliates — down from 8.43 million in 2007, the Nikkei daily said, citing no sources.

Demand has been weak in the United States, Europe and Japan amid the global financial crisis and worries over an international economic slowdown, the newspaper said.

Toyota did not confirm the report. It is expected to release its annual sales data in January.

The company has been racing neck-and-neck with General Motors Corp. to be the world’s biggest automaker by global sales. Last year, Toyota’s group sales rose to 9.366 million vehicles, just shy of GM’s 9.37 million.

The Nikkei daily predicted Toyota’s group sales would dip to 9.3 million units this year.

Toyota enjoyed strong U.S. sales earlier this year on robust demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, but September sales in the United States dropped 32% because of sluggish consumer spending.

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