Japan's top three carmakers produced a record number of vehicles globally last month, highlighting the resilience of the Japanese car industry in the face of a higher yen, soaring oil prices and slowing economic activity in key markets. Toyota said January production for the group, which includes Daihatsu, the mini-vehicle maker, and Hino, the truckmaker, rose 8.2 per cent to a record 801,873. Japan's largest vehicle maker is experiencing strong demand in emerging markets, such as China, India and Russia, which has more than offset slight weaknesses in the US and Europe. Honda and Nissan also enjoyed record sales on the back of strong demand in emerging markets. Toyota, which increased global production in 2007 to 9.5m from 9.37m units expects production to grow again this year to 9.95m. China in particular is expected to see a strong increase in sales of about 40 per cent, while Asia, excluding China, is forecast to enjoy a 7 per cent increase in sales this year. Even sales in the US and Europe, where economic activity is forecast to be lacklustre this year, are not expected to slow down markedly for Toyota, the company said. Honda boosted production in January by 7.7 per cent to 340,762 units, following a strong 2007, in which production rose 7.7 per cent to 3.9m units. January was the 30th consecutive month of production increases for Japan's second-largest carmaker. Honda does not disclose production forecasts for 2008, but says it expects global production to surpass that of 2007. The company said it had not experienced any impact so far from the subprime problems in the US, but that the higher cost of fuel had dampened demand somewhat for its larger cars. Overall, demand was strong due to the popularity of fuel-efficient cars, such as Toyota's Prius, which have given Japanese carmakers an advantage, a Honda representative said. In a strong showing, Nissan also increased January production by nearly 14 per cent to 316,172 units. However, US sales were slow in January, falling by 7.3 per cent. This was in part due to the absence of a strong line-up of new models, which Nissan had in the US last January. Nissan has been bullish about the outlook for this year, forecasting record global sales of 3.7m units. However, the outlook for Japanese carmakers still looks difficult, given the slowdown in the world economy, the higher yen and the sharp rise in raw material costs. Japanese steelmakers recently agreed to a 65 per cent increase in iron ore prices, which they are expected to pass on to customers in the car industry. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008