The company, the most profitable carmaker in the world, announced net profits for the six months to September of 524.46bn yen ($4.8bn; £2.8bn), with operating profit - a key measure of ongoing health - up 12%.

Sales grew 8% over the previous year to 8.2 trillion yen, despite a disappointing performance in the April-June quarter.

Toyota also said it expected its performance to improve over the full year, despite the effect of the weakening dollar which could hurt its earnings in the US.

"Following on from last year, we are aiming for record profits on every level," Toyota executive Takeshi Suzuki told a press conference.

Unlike its US rivals, Toyota has been adding sales in all its key markets around the world.

Its success has been particularly marked in the US, where earlier this year it overtook Chrysler to become the third biggest-selling marque.

Its market share there is at 11.2% so far this year, against 10.4% in 2002 as a whole.

Currency concerns

But there remains the risk of the dollar, analysts said, which has fallen as much as 10 yen in recent months.

As much as 25bn yen could be wiped off operating profits for every yen fall in the US dollar's value, some believe.

And the trend towards heavy incentives in the US market is also a concern.

Ever since the post-9/11 slump in consumer spending, carmakers have been boosting sales through heavy discounting and zero-interest financing deals.

These have eaten into the bottom line at the US Big Three - Ford, GM and Chrysler.