Toyota's president normally holds an annual news conferences to announce the sales targets. But the announcement this year came in a release.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, who took office last year, has been playing down growth ambitions, making comments that stress the crisis the firm faces and its need to return to basics to make appealing cars.

The auto maker has also suffered a huge blow to its image in announcing two massive recalls within the space of two months in the US to fix accelerator pedals that get stuck.

Last week, Toyota said it was recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the US.

In November, it had recalled 4.2 million vehicles due to gas pedals that could become trapped under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration.