Toyota projects its global output will climb by 4% year on year to 9.42 million cars in 2007, while General Motors Corp. announced early this month a production forecast of a 1% increase to 9.26 units, making the Japanese company likely to become the world’s No. 1 carmaker in terms of production volume for the first time this year.

In 2008, Toyota’s overseas output, excluding group firms, is expected to exceed its domestic figure. Plants in Russia and Tianjin, China, that started operating this year are making major contributions to the trend. The company has started producing the RAV4 sport utility vehicle at a new factory in Canada and plans to boost production in South Africa and Guangzhou, China, as well.