Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp, who took the reins of the company this week, said the company would "face two more difficult years."

Appointment of Akio Toyoda marks the homecoming of the founding family. Toyoda is the son of Shoichiro Toyoda, a former Toyota president.

Toyoda, 53, urged former Toyota executives to help the company return to profit, after the global auto slump has battered Toyota. The automaker posted a record loss of 436.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the year ended March. The company expects to post a loss of 550 billion yen in the present fiscal year.

According to Toyoda, the world's biggest automaker is in the middle of a storm and he assured that he would do his best to avoid a third consecutive year of losses.

A nimbler Toyota that will be more responsive to regional needs is also promised by Akio Toyoda.

Toyoda will shoulder the responsibility of reviving sales and cutting costs amid rising unemployment and falling wages in the U. S., Europe and Japan.

As per Autodata, the company's vehicle sales in the U. S., its principal market in the world, have plunged 39 percent to 638,795 units in the present year through May.

Yoshihiro Okumura, who helps oversee the equivalent of $365 million at Tokyo-based Chiba-gin Asset Management Co., said, "We can expect Toyota to go through a tough time."

Yoshihiro Okumura further said that some changes will emerge with the new management team.

Toyota Motor Corp. is also planning to slash costs by at least 800 billion yen this year, as it expects global sales to plunge by 1.07 million vehicles to 6.5 million units this fiscal year.

Prior to his appointment as the president of the company, Akio Toyoda has overseen China operations, Japan sales and Internet businesses, getting experience in various sectors. He also served at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. as vice president, at Fremont, California-based joint venture with GM.