SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Toyota holds its Global Vision conference today, where it is expected the automaker will delve into its future goals for worldwide operations, according to Edmunds.com.

The site went on to share many of the strides Toyota has made this year — including especially robust February sales and a rosier outlook for the company’s operating profits — but also suggested that in light of Toyota likely sharing its long-term global goals,  there may be shorter-term targets that are more pressing, "at least here in the United States." 

"Toyota’s ‘Global Vision’ conference (today) promises to set the tone for the Japanese automaker’s worldwide direction in the next decade. But Edmunds.com’s analysis shows that Toyota has much more immediate concerns to address — at least here in the United States," the site indicated.

For example, Edmunds pointed to the fact that Toyota was the sole major OEM whose U.S. sales declined last year, as they dipped 0.3 percent. As such, Toyota’s U.S. market share ranking slipped from second to third.

Moreover, the automaker’s consideration level on Edmunds.com in 2010 dipped around 3.8 percentage points compared to 2009, according to the site.

Toyota has seen much of the same this year, Edmunds shared. The automaker’s market share is behind those of General Motors and Ford. Toyota’s sales also fall short of sales numbers for GM and Ford.

Its consideration level on Edmunds.com has dropped a percentage point from last year.

“Still haunting Toyota are its perceived safety and quality issues,” analysts shared. “When the U.S. Department of Transportation said last month that no electronic flaws caused Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems, many thought it would be an opportunity for Toyota to regain its momentum in the U.S. market.”

However, then came another recall. Two weeks after the good news from DOT, Toyota recalled more than 2 million units for possible floor-mat issues.
The fact that a large chunk of that recall was Lexus units “further threatened the brand’s already precarious spot at the top of the U.S. luxury auto sales race," according to Edmunds.

That said, while it may be “easy” to point to recalls as the culprit in Toyota’s struggles, Edmunds suggested there is “another pressing concern for Toyota.”

“Toyota needs to overcome not just the PR damage sustained by the recalls, but also the reality that many of its models are stale,” said Edmunds’ Jessica Caldwell, who is the director of pricing and industry analysis.

“In the last few years Toyota’s lineup has remained relatively untouched compared to the changes its top competitors have made to their fleets,” she added. “In today’s competitive marketplace, updating the product line is more important than ever, especially as most new-car buyers cross-shop online without much product loyalty, and many dismiss the cars that are lacking desirable new technology features.”

Edmunds cited an earlier report from its AutoObserver.com site that indicated 11 all-new or redesigned models will be rolled out by the automaker this year.

Among the redesigns are updated Camry and RAV4 models, which typically are among the best-selling units for Toyota.

And Edmunds’ analysis wasn’t all bad news for Toyota, whose fiscal year wraps up March 31.

The U.S. auto industry, in general, has seen a significant spike in sales. Toyota, in particular, enjoyed a 42-percent year-over-year lift during February.

This gain was “surely influenced by Toyota’s decision last year to pull eight models from lots in the days after it announced its recalls,” according to Edmunds.

Breaking down Toyota’s February numbers, Camry and Camry Hybrid sales (when combined) climbed 64 percent year-over. Toyota also saw a 52-percent hike in Corolla sales.

In light of these gains, AutoObserver.com is now projecting Toyota to pull in $6.4 billion in operating profit this year, up from the initial forecast of $4.5 billion.
“It’s still far down from the massive $19.9 billion profit it posted in 2007-08, but at least it’s moving in the right direction,” Edmunds stated.