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On a visit to America's car capital, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) President Katsuaki Watanabe was unwilling to claim success in the Japanese company's move toward the No. 1 spot among the world's automakers.
Instead, he said Toyota must continue to improve its quality from the top down to remain a leader in the auto industry. He spoke to reporters Thursday night after an address to the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress meeting in Detroit.
Toyota has been nearing parity with Detroit-based General Motors Corp. (GM), currently the world's top producer of cars and light trucks.
Asked about the prospects of passing the struggling GM, Watanabe said, "You will never know until all the numbers are in."
While Detroit automakers have struggled, closing plants and cutting tens of thousands of jobs, Toyota has done well. But Watanabe said the automaker has no plans to build a plant in Michigan.
Toyota's global vehicle production topped 9 million in 2006, at 9.018 million vehicles, marking the fifth straight year of growth. GM and its affiliates produced 9.180 million vehicles worldwide in 2006.
Watanabe also was modest about Toyota's international competitive status.
"We're still developing in many regions of the world. I don't regard that as a success yet," he said.

In his keynote address, Watanabe said Toyota is the first Asian company to chair the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. He reminded those in attendance of the critical role they play in helping cure some of the industry's ills.
But he added that energy, environmental and social issues will not be solved by vehicle engineering alone.
"There must be collaboration between industry, government and academia," Watanabe said.
"Ultimately, competition leads to innovation and development of advanced technologies, but cooperation by all of us is essential to create a transportation society in which people and transportation vehicles can harmoniously exist and that can be sustained."