Toyota Aims to Halve Japan Car Models By 2025

Toyota Motor Corp is aiming to halve the number of car models it sells at home by 2025, a person briefed on the matter said.

The Japanese automaker is planning to halve the number of car models it sells in Japan to about 30 by 2025 to focus on more popular models, the second time this month that a Japanese automaker has emerged with plans to sharply scale back in a shrinking domestic market.

It currently offers about 62 car models in Japan, including the Prius gasoline hybrid and the Aqua compact hatchback, along with less popular ones including the Premio sedan.

Car sales in Japan have been on a declining trend for more than two decades as the population rapidly ages and young people are losing interest in car ownership. At the same time, global automakers are increasingly focusing their R&D efforts on electric cars and self-driving technologies.

The automaker aims to gradually cut that to about 30 by 2025 in order to make better use of resources, the person said, declining to be identified as he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

But even halved, the new domestic model collection would still beat the 25 models available in North America, Toyota’s biggest market.

Toyota spokeswoman Akiko Kita declined to comment on product plans, but said the company was chasing a number of strategies to maintain sales of at least 1.5 million Toyota-branded vehicles annually in Japan. It currently sells around 1.6 million a year.

The domestic line-up for Japan’s No. 1 automaker includes the popular Prius gasoline hybrid and the Aqua compact hatchback, versions of which are also available overseas. It also sells lower-volume models, including the Premio sedan, that are often derivatives of other models.

Toyota and other global carmakers are concentrating their efforts on developing lower emissions vehicles, including electric cars while also focusing on expanding market share in emerging markets.

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