Toyota has the current capacity of producing 1.16 mn cars in China annually, and has sold 1.3 mn there last year for an overall 4.5% market share. Volkswagen AG and General Motors on the other hand, delivered more than 4 mn each.

This foray comes at a time when Chinese officials are warming to the hybrid technology that Toyota pioneered with the Prius—amid a realization that electric vehicles along would probably not be able to achieve Beijing’s ambitious environment targets, said two of the people. The government is aiming for a fifth of car sales of its so-called new-energy vehicles by 2025—which will include EVs and plug-in hybrids. Stringent quotas for NEV production are also set into going into force from next year.

The company is hoping to accelerate growth and be competitive with the top manufacturers in the country’s market, which include VW, GM and Geely, a local manufacturer controlled by billionaire Li Shufu—who overtook all its Japanese rivals and became China’s third-largest automaker by sales this year.

While the China push is one way Toyota is adapting to fast changes in the car market, a focus on self-driving vehicles is another. On Tuesday, Toyota said it is investing $500 mn more in Uber Technologies Inc. and that it plans to manufacture minivans loaded with the US company’s software– with testing slated to begin on Uber’s ride-sharing network in 2021.

Toyota sold more than 2.4 mn vehicles in the US last year, almost twice as many as in China.

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January 12, 2017: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) said it expects its 2017 earnings per share (EPS) diluted-adjusted to increase to $6.00-$6.50, up from its 2016 calendar-year outlook of $5.50-$6.00. In 2017, the company also expects to maintain or improve EBIT-adjusted and EBIT-adjusted margin on higher revenues, compared to 2016, and generate about $6 billion of automotive-adjusted free cash flow.

Based on this strong outlook, the GM Board of Directors approved an additional $5 billion in common stock repurchases under its existing share repurchase program, which was announced on March 9, 2015. The new authorisation, which has no expiration date, brings the total under the program to $14 billion.

Share buybacks for the program’s initial authorisation of $5 billion were completed in the third quarter of 2016, one quarter earlier than planned. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the company also completed $1 billion of the next $4 billion authorisation declared in January 2016. The company expects to meet its prior commitment to repurchase $9 billion of common stock by the end of 2017.

GM also announced a $1 billion increase to its cost efficiency target, raising it to $6.5 billion through 2018, of which about $4 billion has already been achieved through 2016. The increased estimate is based on expected additional savings in material, logistics, manufacturing and general administrative costs.

Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, President Dan Ammann and Executive Vice President and CFO Chuck Stevens shared this outlook with the investors and analysts attending the Deutsche Bank 2017 Global Auto Industry Conference in Detroit.

“We’ve generated consistently strong results the last few years by delivering great vehicles, growing the topline and driving efficiencies while at the same time establishing a leading position in shaping the future of transportation,” Barra said. “We’ll stay focused on executing our strategic plan and generating the profitable growth needed to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

GM’s 2017 outlook is based on expected strong performance in North America and China, growth of GM Financial, continued cost efficiencies, improvement in South America and an ongoing strong vehicle launch cadence.

Specifically, the company anticipates the proportion of its global volume from new or refreshed vehicles – those in production less than 18 months – to grow to 38 percent in the 2017-2020 timeframe, up from 26 percent during the 2011-2016 period. Crossovers, trucks and SUVs as a proportion of GM’s global volume of new or refreshed vehicles in the 2017-2020 period are expected to increase significantly, to 52 percent – up from 38 percent the prior six years.

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Research firm AutoData said that US sales hit an all-time high of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. The firm also said that December sales came in much stronger than expected, at a pace of 18.4 million vehicles. That figure is well above estimates for about 17.7 million.

Shares of General Motors Co (GM.N) rose 5.5 percent and Ford Motor Co (F.N) stock rose 4.6 percent, far outpacing the wider Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up only 0.3 percent.

For 2016 sales, Ford reported its best year in a decade while Nissan and Honda said they sold a record number of cars in the US. Toyota and GM bucked the trend, with their total sales in 2016 down from the year earlier.

Light trucks and sport utility vehicles were up 8.3 percent compared to the year-ago period while passenger cars were down 4.7 percent.

The positive increase in auto sales is mainly attributed to strong consumer confidence coupled with low fuel prices. In December, US consumer confidence reached levels not seen in 15 years. Auto sales are an early indicator of consumer spending.

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