Toyota Europe cuts '09 sales view again

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent

PARIS (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's European sales forecast for 2009, which it cut in August, is no longer viable, the automaker's regional head said on Thursday, given the slowdown in the market and the global economy.

"We no longer believe 1.3 million cars (for 2009) is realistic," Toyota Motor Europe CEO Tadashi Arashima told Reuters in an interview at the Paris Motor Show.

"I want to sell around the same volumes as we did in 2007, which was 1.24 million units," he said.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, cut its 2008 sales forecast for Europe to 1.19 million from a previous 1.27 million in July and its target for 2009 in late-August to 1.3 million from 1.45 million.

But sharper-than-expected sales drops in Spain, Britain and Italy, among other markets, have hit Toyota especially hard in Europe, where it has not launched a new model in a year and a half. Earlier this year it was forced to cut production in Britain and Turkey.

Toyota's sales in Europe during the first eight months of this year fell 7 percent to 793,920 units, making its lowered sales target even for this year tougher to reach.

"I'm not sure that the pace of slowdown of the past few months was completely factored in back in July when we lowered our projections globally," Arashima said, noting that September's not-yet-announced sales fall was worse than he expected.

While Arashima said he did not expect the European market to hit bottom until the end of this year at the earliest, he said Toyota should have a better year in 2009 with the launch of new models.

Toyota is showcasing a production version of its iQ hatchback, the world's smallest four-seater at less than 3 meters long, at the Paris Auto Show.

The Japanese manufacturer is positioning the iQ as a premium small car, with carbon dioxide emissions of 99 grams per kilometer, and said it wants to sell around 80,000 units annually after sales start in January.

Arashima said the iQ would be priced at around 13,000 euros - about the same price as the Yaris subcompact hatchback.

Toyota will also begin selling an all-new Avensis sedan in January - with an annual sales target of 115,000 units - and the new Urban Cruiser, targeting sales of 30,000 units after a May launch.

Further helping to lower its fleet's carbon dioxide emissions, Toyota's third-generation Prius will also hit showrooms next year. The world's best-selling hybrid car will go up against Honda Motor Co's new Insight, also unveiled in Paris on Thursday.

Takanobu Ito, chief operating officer of Honda's automobile operations, told a small group of reporters earlier that the Insight's sticker price had not been decided. But executives have said it would be in the ballpark of $20,000, or 2 million yen, with widespread expectations that it would cost about 15,000 euros in Europe.

The current Prius sells for 28,000 to 30,000 euros.