Japan’s Carmakers Aim to Boost Global Sales 4%

Japan's eight makers of cars and truck aim to sell 25.1 million vehicles worldwide this year compared with a record 24.1 million units in 2012, The Nikkei reports.

Auto forecasters predict overall global auto demand will rise 3% year over year to more than 83 million vehicles in 2013.

The newspaper says Daihatsu, Fuji Heavy, Honda and Toyota s expect increases of nearly 6% to a combined 15.1million vehicles. The Nikkei does not disclose how it estimated sales forecasts for Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Suzuki, which have not made public predictions.

The Japanese companies predict a collective 8% sales jump in the U.S. to 5.8 million units, according to the newspaper. That's a bigger gain that most industry researchers are forecasting for the American car market. Most expect demand to grow 4%-7% to as much as 15.4 vehicles this year.