Japan’s biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation (TM), is reportedly slashing production capacity at one of its factories in Japan, with domestic sales falling to their lowest point in over 30 years. The company will suspend production at one of the two production lines at the Takaoka plant in Aichi prefecture, central Japan from 2010 until the second half of 2011, lowering the facility’s overall capacity by 49% or 220,000 vehicles. Toyota also plans to shut New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) in California, a joint-venture factory with General Motors. In June, GM had pulled out of the joint venture after filing for bankruptcy. Toyota also plans to halt production lines at plants in Japan and U.K. These moves would cut the company’s production capacity by 700,000 vehicles to 1 million vehicles from its total annual capacity of 10 million vehicles. The company plans to produce 6.68 ...

General Motors has released a plan to increase output for the rest of 2009 to meet the demand generated by the recently introduced “Cash for Clunkers" program. “Cash for Clunkers" or the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) introduced by the U.S. Government last month, is a cash incentive program. The program allows consumers to trade in their fuel-inefficient vehicles for efficient ones for a value of up to $4,500. Several automakers have increased production in response to the demand due to the program. Recently, Ford (F) has announced plans to scale up its fourth quarter output by 33% from a year earlier. Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Toyota Motors (TM), Hyundai Motor and Chrysler Group LLC have followed the lead as well. GM revealed its plan to add 60,000 vehicles to its production schedule in the third and fourth quarters and bring back about 1,350 ...

Recently, Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co. (HMC) revealed its plan to introduce two new gas-electric hybrid vehicles in 2010 in Japan. The company will offer the CR-Z hybrid sports car in February next year, followed by a hybrid version of its Fit compact by the end of next year. The CR-Z has also been set for an international roll-out, but this has not yet been confirmed for the Fit. The new hybrid lineup by Honda is expected to deliver a serious blow to its rival Toyota Motors (TM) in low-emission vehicles. The hybrid version of Fit will be cheaper than the Toyota Prius, on the back of its low-cost single-motor hybrid drive used in Honda’s Insight hybrid. Previously, Honda Insight had lost its luster to Toyota’s third generation Prius in terms of fuel efficiency. Prius 2010 clocks 51 mpg in the city ...

Reports Point to Housing Market Bottom; Big Three Automakers Beat Estimates; Microsoft Will Unveil New Operating System in Time for XMAS; Dallas Fed President: Economy ‘Getting Less Worse’; European Jobless Rate Climbs;  Pepsi Bottling Chief Could Cash In

The housing market showed further signs of bottoming in April, as pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes saw their biggest monthly gain in seven and a half years, the National Association of Realtors reported. The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes climbed 6.7% in April, more than forecast and the fourth increase in five months. The report supports the case for a housing bottom made in Money Morning on Monday, where it was noted that housing prices are starting to move upward in western U.S. markets and should soon slowly begin to rise in hard-hit east coast markets.  “Based on what we just ...

Here we cite the following auto companies: Nissan (NSANY), Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Daimler AG (DAI), Ford Motor Co. (F), Toyota Motors (TM) and General Motors Corp. (GM).

On the flipside of senior equity analyst Paul Raman, CFA's notes on the San Diego Auto Show, we now cast the spotlight toward where auto companies might need to make near-term improvements. Most if not all companies will be looking to make strategic acquisitions and/or joint ventures to increase their global positions.

SUBARU (Forester, Outback, Impreza, Legacy, Tribeca)This company is owned by Fuji Heavy Industries.Overall, this product line has an SUV focus, but vehicles have too much plastic, in our opinion.  Models that should be discontinued - Impreza.

NISSANMurano - Sales are off 10%, but this a 21 MPG vehicle that has 4/5 star safety and a nice interior. It is a crossover and has

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Major domestic sales declines from Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR: TM) and Nissan Motor Corp. (ADR: NSANY) led Japan to post its worst overall annual vehicle sales in nearly three decades.

Sales of cars, minicars, trucks and buses hit a 28-year low, falling 5%, or 5.08 million, from the 5.35 million sold in 2007, according to figures released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA) and Japan Mini Vehicles Association, Bloomberg reported.

Worse, domestic auto sales in December totaled 183,549 vehicles - a 22% decline and the biggest drop on record - showing the sales crunch is a growing problem.

“We never imagined sales would fall this badly,” JADA Director Takeshi Fushimi said, Reuters reported. “This is a bleak situation.” Widespread job losses plagued the industry, sapping consumer demand and chopping hundreds of thousands of vehicles from sales tallies.

“The industry

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This blog cites General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), Toyota Motors (TM), Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Daimler, Inc. (DAI), Nissan Motors (NSANY) and others.

Zacks senior auto industry analyst Paul Raman, CFA recently published his extensive notes on the San Diego Auto Show, and we pulled his positive stories to illustrate where -- if anywhere -- automakers might have demonstrated a workable starting point.

NISSANAltima - Sales are up 2%. Gas mileage is excellent, in the 23-24 MPG range. Prices range from $22-27K. The car has 55% US content and 21% Japanese content. Overall, the interior could use some improvement, and there appeared to be not enough leg room. There is a hybrid version that costs $30K and gets 34 MPG.Rogue - This is a hot-selling crossover that gets 25 MPG with 4/5 star safety and a $27K price tag. There is

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Honda Motor Co. (HMC) will cut production by 119,000 units in North America for the fiscal year, due to the slump in the automobile market.

With this move, the Tokyo-based automobile company has now reduced a total of 175,000 units from its planned production. For the current fiscal year, the company's production will total 1,293,000 units, down from its previous year's levels.

Earlier in November, Honda had suspended production of 18,000-units.

The consensus earnings estimate on this Zacks #5 Rank ("Strong Sell") company for the current fiscal year remains $2.43.

"HMC" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

South Korea Plans $10.8 billion Stimulus; KKR IPO Delayed Again; DryShips Posts 71% Profit Growth; Oil Slides Below $64; Manufacturing Hits 26-year Low; Viacom Profit Down 37%; Cars Sales Plummet

South Korea’s government announced plans for a 14 trillion won ($10.8 billion) economic stimulus aimed to create an extra 200,000 jobs, extend tax breaks for factory investments and increase infrastructure spending and development. Relief measures announced this year now total 33 trillion won, according to the finance ministry, Bloomberg reported. Initial public offering plans for buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have again been delayed, this time because its Amsterdam-listed affiliate suffered big investment losses. With KKR’s delay, there hasn’t been a U.S. IPO in nearly three months, Reuters reported. DryShips ...

Honda Motor Co. (HMC) is expanding its business in Asia, growing its global network to increase efficiency and introducing new products to satisfy local markets. Further, capacity expansion plans in Asia and a new sales strategy in Japan inspire optimism about Honda's prospects.

However, rising raw material prices and selling and administrative expenses are likely to pressure margins. Moreover, unfavorable currency exchange rates, flat-to-lower sales in its key markets (North America) and increased competition will threaten HMC's global position. Therefore, we maintain our Hold rating with a six-month target price of $30.

The company also expects prices to increase and year over year incentives to decline in fiscal 2009, which will push revenues further. In 2009, in the automobile business, Honda expects to sell 4.08 million units; an increase of 155,000 units from fiscal 2008.

In the motorcycle division, the company anticipates unit sales to reach 10.46 million in fiscal

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