Honda and Nissan are already feeling the pinch so it’s no surprise that Toyota may also have bad news on the horizon. The Big T cut sales forecast back in August when it dropped predictions of 10.4 million total vehicle sales back to 9.7 million for the year, but reports indicate there could be worse to come.

The Nikkei Daily (a large Japanese newspaper) is reporting that it expects the figures to be closer to the 8.3 million mark. If these figures are accurate, it would be Toyota’s first year on year sales decline in a decade.

While no sources have been cited in the report, and the validity of these claims cannot yet be verified, we  only need wait until January ‘09 when Toyota releases its official sales figures to see if the Nikkei Daily was on the money.

These are nervous times for the automotive industry. A downturn for a company as large and successful as Toyota would signify the severity of the issues facing manufacturers globally. Certainly, Toyota can whether any storm; there may be others not so fortunately placed.