Toyota says U.S. auto bankruptcy undesirable

TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that a big bankruptcy in the U.S. auto industry would worsen an already severe business environment, adding it hoped for a solution to avoid such a scenario.

"The U.S. auto market is shrinking rapidly," Japan's top automaker said in a statement. "A major bankruptcy would exacerbate an already difficult environment for Toyota and the industry. We hope to avoid this situation."

Earlier, a proposed bailout of Detroit's General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Chrysler and Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) failed in the U.S. Senate, raising the spectre of an industry collapse and sending automaker shares tanking in Asia. [ID:nN12422697] (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim)