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Toyota sells 10.15 mln vehicles in 2015, stays No. 1 automaker

But effective collaboration required Toyota to define its relationship with Daihatsu, which competes with Suzuki in Japan.

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Toyota rose 3.80 per cent to close at 6,881 yen, after adding more than four percent at one stage.

Meanwhile, the automaker is reportedly eyeing possible cooperation with another Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor Corp.to meet increasing demand for compact cars in emerging markets such as India. The companies are discussing working together on fuel-saving and safety technologies, this person said. Both vehicle makers denied that they have entered partnership negotiations.

Shares in Daihatsu soared 16 percent after being overwhelmed by buy orders for most of the day.

Suzuki also offers a 40 percent share of the Indian traveler-automobile field, while Toyota, which put up its Indian device in 1997, continues to be battling to increase revenue there using its market-share standing just five percent, based on the Nikkei. The remaining 48.8% stake in Daihatsu was valued at around Yen360 billion ($3.04 billion) as of the market’s close Wednesday.

Suzuki is known for low-priced compact cars and is a major player in emerging markets.

Volkswagen and Toyota have been battling for global sales leadership in the auto industry, though the Japanese company has pulled ahead after a scandal over diesel emissions at its German rival.

Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as the world’s top automaker in 2008 but lost it three years later to the USA firm, as Japan’s earthquake-tsunami disaster dented production and disrupted the supply chains.

The company sold 10.15 million cars overall in 2015, slightly beating expectations. Including Nissan’s French partner Renault, the group’s 8.22 million combined sales put it in fourth place globally.

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Toyota was the only carmaker topping 10 million units past year, after the Volkswagen Group announced earlier this month it handed over 9,930,600 vehicles to customers worldwide in 2015, falling 2 percent from the record 10,137,400 cars in 2014.

Toyota, Suzuki In Partnership Talk: Nikkei