Toyota to increase domestic production in next 6 months

Toyota Motor plans to raise domestic production during the April-September period by about 10 percent from its earlier estimate thanks to the recent weak yen, it was reported on Saturday. Toyota has already revised up planned output for April and May by 10 percent to between 13,000 and 13,500 vehicles a day and it now intends to keep production at that level through to September, the Nikkei business daily said. The weakening Japanese currency is seen pushing up exports of the Corolla and Prius to North America as well as vehicles for the Middle Eastern market, the newspaper said. Domestic output for the nine months to September is expected to reach 2.5 million units, topping the earlier plan by some 200,000 units, it said, adding that the firm may revise up its annual estimate of 3.1 million units. The yen has weakened against major currencies over the past months. Japan has introduced a new management team for the central bank, which is expected to launch aggressive easing aimed at fixing the limp economy.