Toyota cut back production by 15% in August to try and counter the tail off in truck and SUV sales in the US.

It’s the first time the Japanese manufacturer has cut production outside its domestic market since 2001. Honda and Nissan also reduced output by 5% each.

Toyota has now abandoned plans to be the first carmaker to sell 10 million vehicles in a year in 2009, cutting forecasts from 10.4m to 9.7m.