DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — Japanese automaker Toyota's most pressing worry in the ailing US auto market is a lack of consumer confidence, a Toyota USA executive said Tuesday.
For 2009, "our biggest concern right now is consumer confidence. There basically is no consumer confidence" to support vehicle purchases, Donald Esmond, Toyota USA vice president of automotive operations, told AFP.
"Whatever we can do or whatever the government can do to stimulate and reinforce consumer confidence is the right direction," Esmond said.
The Toyota executive expected a further slide in sales in the first six months of the year before a mild turnaround.
"The first half will be balancing to the bottom a bit more," he said. "We see some relief for the last six months of the year."
Esmond said that "when consumer confidence comes back, there is room for the market to come back, to start to grow again."
At the moment, with the US economy sliding deeper into a year-old recession, basic qualities such as reliability and fuel economy "are becoming increasingly important."
In this context, he said, Toyota is well-positioned with the launch this year of its next-generation, fuel-efficient Prius. The Prius was the company's third best-selling model in 2008.
"We're pretty confident Prius should do well," he said.
"Prius is no longer a niche car -- it's mainline and hybrids are part of our business," he said.
Toyota sold 241,000 hybrid vehicles in the United States in 2008, including 165,000 Prius.
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