Toyota is preparing to increase production thanks to strong sales of hybrid vehicles. The shortage of automotive semiconductors and other components is also easing, the Nikkei says.

For the calendar year to December, the world's biggest automaker by sales aims to produce 3.4 million vehicles in Japan and 6.9 million overseas, the report said. The figures include its luxury Lexus brand.

The report was not something the company had announced, a Toyota spokesperson said without commenting further.

Toyota will target an annual output of over 10.5 million vehicles, Nikkei says. It added that the company set electric vehicle production levels at approximately 250 000 vehicles in 2024 and 600 000 units in 2025.

Toyota produced 9.2 million vehicles during the first 11 months of 2023, it said last month. Around a third of the vehicles it sold worldwide over that period were gasoline-electric hybrids.