According to media reports, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) sold 21,300 vehicles as of Aug 18, an increase of 8% from the year-ago period. Benefiting from the rising sales of its Prius hybrid, revenues for the entire month is likely to exceed from the year ago level. Toyota had reported a 12.9% decline in sales in August 2008.

The company is temporarily hiring workers employed at its parts suppliers, according to sources. Toyota hopes to support management at these companies by taking on workers from suppliers with more staff than they require due to the drop in orders. Toyota will expand the temporary hiring of its parts suppliers' employees, bringing on another 200-300 workers.

Toyota is one of the most efficient auto manufacturers in the world, aided by the world-renowned Toyota Production System methodology. The company continues to increase its production and gain market share in the U.S., the second largest contributor to sales. Since Toyota started producing vehicles in North America in 1986, it has concentrated on increasing its presence and capacity. Demand for Toyota’s vehicles remains strong and sales were higher in its key markets in 2008.

Toyota introduced hybrid vehicles in North America to meet the rising demand for such high-performance automobiles to address surging fuel costs. The automaker dominates the hybrid market with its Toyota and Lexus offerings as well as the Prius hybrids. The company sold 1.41 million hybrid vehicles in fiscal 2008. To this end, the company is concentrating on upgrading the performance of its next generation hybrid systems. Toyota plans to manufacture hybrid vehicles in Thailand and Australia.