Toyota to postpone sports car production

As the domestic auto market slump continued to worsen, Toyota Motor Corp. decided to delay start-up of production and launch of a compact sports car that it has been developing with Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. The two automakers planned to begin manufacturing the car in late 2011 for the domestic market, but production may be postponed until 2012 or later due to the global economic crunch. Although Toyota has not made a formal announcement that it will pull out of its Formula 1 sponsorship, the move is also widely expected. (December 20, 2008/February 27, 2009)