Japanese car giants hike capacity as demand surges

TOKYO: Japanese carmakers are increasing capacity in China to meet surging demand in the nation, which surpassed the United States as the world's largest auto market in 2009.

They were also buoyed by a rebound in the US auto sales, which gained for a third month in January. Output plunged a year earlier amid a global recession.

Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co increased global output in January as demand surged in Asia.