Toyota May Delay Releases of New Models

Washington DC August 25, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota is considering whether to delay the introduction of some new models by up to six months, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The automaker has been accelerating its world wide growth, and said this past May that capital expenditures in the current fiscal year would reach a record of roughly $14 billion.

The fast-paced expansion, however, has also resulted in an increasing number of quality problems and vehicle recalls in North America, Japan, and elsewhere.

According to senior executives and engineers, the automaker is considering adding six more months to projects that normally call for roughly two to three years of development lead time.

Those individuals say that while some programs would be spared, delays would likely affect a relatively wide range of projects.

High-volume models that could be affected by the plan include the next Sienna minivan, Solara sports coupe, and Avalon sedan.