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 TOKYO (AP) - Toyota expects that flat sales in North America — where higher gas prices, a housing slump and a slowing economy have tempered consumer spending — will slow growth in its overall sales and profits this year after double-digit gains last year.
Besides the anticipated sales slowdown, Toyota officials said Wednesday that investments in new plants to boost production and research costs to develop new models will depress its profit expansion for the fiscal year through March 2008.
Japan's biggest automaker has also been spending on quality controls, after suffering a surge in recalls that analysts say may be a byproduct of the automaker's recent aggressive growth efforts.
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