Toyota is looking elsewhere for growth and in particular markets like Brazil, China and India. The Japanese automaker says that it plans to introduce eight new compact size models designed for these developing markets by 2015.

"In emerging markets, there are four or five automakers vying to take the lead in sales volumes," Toyota Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo told Reuters.

"Particularly in the Southeast Asian region, Volkswagen and others are looking to challenge our lead so we can't be resting on our laurels," he added.

Toyota said that the upcoming compact models will carry a base sticker of around 1 million yen (about US$12,500 / €10,000) or higher, with production to be localized in markets such as India, Brazil and China.

"We won't go to the 500,000 yen segment - it's not our category," he said. "We want to beef up our presence in segments where we can be competitive. There are many other options for customers looking in that price range, including used cars."