Toyota said the news report is not based on official information released by the company. Amid a deepening global economic downturn, the automaker has not yet announced output goals for the upcoming business year, said spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi.

On Wednesday, the world’s biggest automaker said its worldwide production in January slid 39.1 per cent from a year earlier to 487,984 vehicles. In the fiscal year through March 2008, Toyota made about 8.6 million vehicles worldwide. Toyota is forecasting its first annual net loss since 1950 as plunging demand for cars, especially in the United States, and the strong yen pummel earnings.

The company has tapped a member of the founding family, Akio Toyoda, to take over as president in hopes
the 52-year-old can engineer a turnaround.