Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday its global production plunged by nearly half in February from a year earlier, while Honda and Nissan reported similarly grim figures highlighting the woes facing Japanese automakers.

Separately, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said auto sales in Japan for the fiscal year through March 2010 are expected to drop 8 percent from the previous year to what would be a 32-year low of 4.297 million vehicles.

The last time domestic sales were lower was in fiscal 1977, when 4.23 million vehicles were sold, it said.

Toyota's production figures - which include Daihatsu Motor Co., which makes small cars, and truckmaker Hino Motors - showed global production for February totaled tumbled 49.6 percent to 434,179 vehicles. Toyota's production in Japan for the month declined 56.4 percent on-year to 207,743 vehicles.

Honda Motor Co.'s global production in February declined 42.7 percent from the same month a year ago to 190,680 vehicles. Its Japanese output fell 48.4 percent to 54,748 vehicles.

Monthly worldwide production for Nissan Motor Co. in February declined 51.3 percent to 156,864 vehicles, while its production in Japan plunged 68.8 percent. Nissan is allied with Renault SA of France.

Mazda Motor Corp.'s global production fell 54.6 percent to 57,642 vehicles for the month, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s output dropped 65 percent to 45,048 vehicles from the previous year.