Toyota announced on Tuesday that it planned to sell 9.8 million vehicles in 2008. This is an ambitious target keeping in mind the worries about a slowing car market in the United States. However, this would cement Toyota's place as the world's number one car maker, ahead of General Motors.
The company said that it would try and produce 9.95 million vehicles next year, up by 5% from this year. The company said that it was expecting a corresponding rise in its sales.
Soaring gas prices have bolstered the appeal of small and fuel efficient cars which are Toyota's main strength. The Camry, Corolla and the Prius are among the popular cars.
The company has seen huge growth in the Russian and Chinese markets where it expects combined sales of around 900,000 cars a rise of nearly 40%.
However the company is cautious is the US where the recent financial crisis and soaring gas prices have hit the consumers hard.
The company has also predicted sales of 10.4 million for the year 2010. This would make it the first automobile company ever to reach the milestone of selliing 10 million vehicles.