TOKYO: Toyota said yesterday it will idle its plants in Japan for 11 days in February and March in an unprecedented move for a car giant that just a few months ago seemed unable to keep up with global demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles.

Now, faced with a relentless slide in sales, especially in the United States, its biggest market, Toyota will suspend production at all 12 of its directly operated domestic plants.

The stoppages come on top of a three-day shutdown this month at these plants that Toyota had already announced.

Even strong players like Toyota have failed to escape the fate of empty showrooms as consumers tighten their belts and banks tighten lending. That, coupled with a stronger Japanese yen, which reduces the yen value of overseas profits, forced Toyota last month to forecast its first annual loss in 70 years.

Toyota's US sales dropped 37 per cent in December, worse than Japanese rivals Honda and Nissan and even struggling Detroit carmakers General Motors and Ford, figures out on Monday showed.

Chrysler led the way in losses with a 53 per cent monthly drop while Honda, Ford and GM posted drops of 35, 32 and 31 per cent respectively.

Overall, the number of cars sold in the US crashed again in December, capping the worst year for the industry since 1992. Total industry sales fell 36 per cent in December to 896,124 vehicles, which helped drag 2008 sales down 18 per cent to 13.2 million.

The numbers could have been scarier if the US government had not made a significant end-of-the-year cash infusion to GMAC, GM's car financing arm, which enabled GM to reintroduce special financing rates and lower its credit standards.

Japan's Subaru emerged as 2008's sole survivor. Strong demand in the US for its Forester and Impreza models helped it eke out a 0.3 per cent increase in cars sold, making it the only big carmaker so far to report higher sales for last year.

Auto sales in Asia and Europe are also showing signs of a deepening slowdown. Sales dropped almost 16 per cent in France and fell 22 per cent in Japan, after a record decline of almost 50 per cent in Spain last week. German data is due later this week.

In response to the sharp slowdown, automakers across the globe are struggling to reduce stocks of unsold vehicles and, like Toyota, have resorted to plant closures, job cuts and extended holidays for workers.

Consolidation is also underway.

In the latest such move, German luxury sports car maker Porsche late on Monday took over Volkswagen, the biggest European car manufacturer.

NEW YORK TIMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE