Toyota chief says two more tough years on horizon

TOKYO: The new head of Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest car maker, warned yesterday the autos industry faces two years of tough times, as he outlined his strategy to get the company back to profits.

Toyota aimed to build more autonomous operations in North America and shift focus to marketing region-specific vehicle lineup, instead of providing a full line-up in every region, newly appointed President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder, told his first media conference in the job.

Most of Toyota's factories around the world are underused as a global recession hammers car sales, sending two of America's three big car makers into receivership.