Tagged: tsunami

Analysts expect Toyota will overtake General Motors this month to become the ‘world’s number one auto maker’.

In 2011, Toyota lost its crown as the world’s top auto company, after the company’s auto sales plummeted following questions about safety at Toyota and the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

But Toyota sales are up this year. The company expects to sell 9.7 million vehicles. That’s more than analysts expect GM will in 2012.

Mike Wall is an auto industry analyst with IHS Global Insight.   He says GM shouldn’t worry about falling to number two.

Japanese car sales in the U.S. have nearly recovered, a year after a tsunami devastated parts of Japan.  

The disaster affected many Honda and Toyota suppliers, and the companies’ car inventories in the U.S. plummeted. 

Michelle Krebs is with Edmunds.com.  She says Hyundai and Kia, along with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, all benefited from the situation.  

"The market share runs about 45-46% for the Big Three in the U.S.," notes Kreb.  "That shot way up to 50.3 % - a number we hadn’t seen in a long time."

Since the Japanese nuclear crisis began, the handful of pharmacies in Michigan that stock anti-radiation medicine are seeing an uptick in demand.   

Michigan’s Attorney General issued a warning today about a growing number of scams linked to the Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami disaster.  Numerous scams have popped up since last week’s disaster, including a viral video making the rounds on Facebook purporting to show people fleeing the tsunami wave.

 Attorney General Bill Schuette says Michiganders wanting to help should beware of phony charities trying to take advantage of them.  

"Even during tough times, the people of Michigan give generously to charities that assist disaster victims around the world….It's important to take steps to ensure your dollars are not lost to fraud and your financial information remains secure."

Americans have been offering help to the people suffering in Japan.

The Japanese Consulate General of Japan in Detroit issued a statement thanking people for their support and providing more information about where people can donate, and how people may contact loved ones in Japan.

The Consulate says they are not yet accepting volunteers willing to travel to Japan as they are not in a position to "receive and deploy" them.