Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    TOKYO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Some 2,200 Toyota Motor Corp. middle managers will voluntarily buy new Toyota cars by the end of March in a new effort to show their support for the company amid tough economic times, company sources said Wednesday.

    The decision was made at a company meeting. The managers of Japan's biggest auto company can choose any model they like. No one will be forced to buy a car, a company spokesman said.

    Toyota stunned Japan by forecasting its first annual operating loss in 70 years for the fiscal year ending March 31 this year. Its domestic sales in November last year dropped 27.6 percent from a year earlier to about 108,000 units, the steepest monthly drop since October 1976.

    Such a voluntary initiative began at Toyota with senior executives since late last year but it is now spreading to involve middle managers.

    Japan's auto industry suffered a huge blow as overseas demand contracted drastically in the economic crisis. A rising yen also eroded their profits by a large margin.