Toyota names new president

NAGOYA (AFX) - Toyota Motor said a deputy president, Tasuro Toyoda, would become president, succeeding Shoichiro Toyoda, who becomes chairman. The current chairman, Eiji Toyoda, is to be honorary chairman.

Toyota will also appoint Masami Iwasaki, another deputy president, deputy chairman. The management changes will be formalised at the shareholders' meeting in September.

Mr Shoichiro Toyoda said Toyota might slow overseas investment in the future.

'We will proceed with current projects,' he said when outlining the management changes.

'In the future, however, there is the possibility that we may delay some projects, which we have not yet started.' Toyota Motor is building new plants in Britain and America, and plans two more in Japan.

'We will continue to invest in localisation of car production so that we can cut the size of exports,' he said.

'Domestically, we will spend mainly on upgrading capacity,' he said, stressing that 'domestic production will never decrease'.

Japan's car exports rose 7.9 per cent in June over May, to 338,280 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.

By value, car exports rose 6.6 per cent, reaching dollars 3.67bn, up from dollars 3.44bn in May.

Toyota was the largest exporter of passenger cars in June, with shipments of 100,856, followed by 56,432 from Nissan and 53,684 from Mazda.