STEVE INSKEEP, Host: The Japanese company wants to seal its place as the number one automaker. Toyota will produce nearly 10 million vehicles in 2008. And yet if its sales projections come true, it won't end up with a lot of inventory because it hopes to sell 9.85 million of those vehicles globally. If it succeeds, if it does, Toyota would beat the sales records set by GM in 1978 of more than 9 1/2 million vehicles. The two automakers have been battling to be tops in the auto industry, although GM has not released any projections for 2008.
Toyota has big plans for 2008. The automaker has set a goal of selling 9.85 million vehicles globally. If it meets that goal, Toyota would beat a sales record set by General Motors in 1978, when GM sold more than 9.5 million vehicles.