Toyota to Raise Global Output

Toyota Motor Corp. said it would boost 2006 output by about 40% in emerging markets to meet growing demand for its minivans and pickup trucks.

Toyota will make 700,000 Innova minivans and other models designed for markets including Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand and South Africa. That’s up from an initial target of more than 500,000, said Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota’s new president, at a news conference Monday in Tokyo.

Watanabe said Toyota would raise global production by 11% this year to a record 7.54 million units. The producer of Corolla cars has said it wanted to raise its share of global auto sales to 15% in the next decade, up from about 11%, a level that would pass that of General Motors Corp., the world’s largest carmaker.

“Toyota has been accelerating production abroad, responding to a strong demand for vehicles in the bigger markets like the U.S. as well as the emerging markets,” said Koji Endo, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, after hearing Watanabe speak at the news conference.

Toyota, which makes cars and parts in more than 60 factories in 27 countries, is poised to open plants in Texas, Canada and Russia to protect it from currency fluctuations and enable quicker response to local market trends.

Watanabe also said that a new Canadian assembly plant, Toyota’s seventh auto factory in North America, would be coming “very soon.”