Toyota Motor Corp. has been somewhat modest in the past about its push for the title of world's largest automaker, downplaying the rivalry with General Motors Corp. and even suggesting it would take steps to help its U.S. competitors.

That posture ended Wednesday, when Toyota sharply raised its sales and profit forecasts, increasing the chance it could supplant GM as the world's largest automaker by the end of the year. The outlook depicts a global juggernaut on the attack that GM, Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group face as they attempt to remake their businesses.

"They're stepping on the accelerator," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting and product analysis for J.D. Power and Associates. "This is certainly a signal that they intend to take the No. 1 slot. It's going to put a lot of pressure on anyone else in the top six automakers."

But GM is not likely to let the title it has held since 1931 slip away quietly, as it expects to boost its global production this year to an all-time high of 9.22 million vehicles, on the strength of its business in Asia and other parts of the world.

As for its top spot, "we're not looking to give that up," said GM spokesman Tom Wickham.

The race may come so close this year that one automaker could build more vehicles while another takes the top spot in sales. Toyota said it now expects to sell 8.85 million vehicles worldwide this year, up 9% from last year, and growing to 9.8 million by 2008.

It previously forecast it would build 9.06 million vehicles this year, but did not update its production estimate along with the revision to its sales outlook. The automaker passed Ford as the world's second-largest car builder in 2003.

GM built 9.05 million vehicles last year and sold 9.2 million, thanks to the employee discount programs and a backlog of inventory in the United States. It does not forecast annual sales, which typically run below production. GM sales are down 12% in North America this year through August.

Toyota also boosted its profit estimates for the first half of its fiscal year, which began in April, by 32% to about $4.3 billion, in part because of a weaker-than-expected Japanese yen, a benefit its troubled U.S. competitors claim provides an unfair advantage.

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said Wednesday that the automaker plans to expand production outside Japan, improve its quality controls and cut costs, and eventually raise its operating profit margin to 10% from 8.5% today. He also said the company would hire 8,000 engineers over the next four years to maintain quality, which has suffered from increased recalls in recent years.