Tokyo, Feb 9 (AFP\/APP): Japan’s Toyota left its annual forecasts unchanged on Thursday despite ongoing disruption from the global chip shortage, as the cheaper yen offsets the impact of soaring materials prices.<\/p>\n
The world’s top-selling automaker, which reshuffled its executive line-up last month, is still suffering production setbacks caused by the semiconductor shortage along with other industry players.<\/p>\n
“Dealers, suppliers, and production sites worked hard under circumstances where production plans fluctuated greatly due to factors such as semiconductor shortages and natural disasters,” Toyota said in a statement.<\/p>\n
But it said it still expected a net profit of 2.36 trillion yen ($18 billion) in the 12 months to March 2023, down 17 percent on-year.<\/p>\n
Toyota said it was “striving to quickly evaluate alternative semiconductors and respond to design changes for securing stable procurement of semiconductors”.<\/p>\n
The company logged a third-quarter net profit of 727.9 billion yen, down eight percent on-year, and for April-December, net profit dropped 18 percent to 1.90 trillion yen.<\/p>\n
While operating profit fell over the nine months, it was up in the third quarter “as the positive effects of a weaker yen and volume increases exceeded the negative effect of soaring materials prices”, Toyota said.<\/p>\n
The carmaker has struggled to meet its production targets simply because “there are not enough semiconductors”, said Seiji Sugiura, senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.<\/p>\n
But Toyota is in a better position than many of its smaller rivals as it “has strong bargaining power” with parts suppliers, Sugiura told AFP before the earnings release.<\/p>\n
China’s decision to end its zero-Covid policy and any economic stimulus measures from Beijing are also positive factors, he said, although Toyota cautioned that Chinese customers’ enthusiasm remained lukewarm for now.<\/p>\n
In January, Toyota set a confident 2023 production target of 10.6 million vehicles — higher than in recent years, including the nine million made in pre-pandemic 2019.<\/p>\n
Still, it warned that actual production could be 10 percent lower because of parts shortages.<\/p>\n
Vehicle sales rose 16 percent in the third quarter thanks to the recovery in the global market, especially in North America and Asia, Toyota said Thursday.<\/p>\n
The automaker made a surprise shake-up of its leadership last month, replacing Akio Toyoda, whose grandfather founded the company, with 53-year-old Koji Sato as CEO.<\/p>\n
Toyoda, 66, will become board chairman as Sato — previously chief branding officer and president of Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand — takes up the roles of chief executive and president.<\/p>\n
Sato is taking the helm at a time of major upheaval for the auto industry, with electric vehicles now center-stage.<\/p>\n
Toyota pioneered hybrid cars, but some critics say the company has been slow to make the shift to battery-powered engines, even as demand soars for low-emission automobiles.<\/p>\n
A year ago, the automaker hiked its targets for the sector and announced it would roll out 30 battery-powered electric models by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n
Chris Redl of Gordian Capital Japan told AFP he thought Toyoda had done a “very good job” as CEO.<\/p>\n
“Anybody could naturally assume that his stepping down has something to do with their bungled EV strategy,” he said.<\/p>\n
“But… I think that he is completely correct in staying lukewarm on the electrification of Toyota’s fleet” given the high price of lithium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tokyo, Feb 9 (AFP\/APP): Japan’s Toyota left its annual forecasts unchanged on Thursday despite ongoing disruption from the global chip shortage, as the cheaper yen offsets the impact of soaring materials prices. The world’s top-selling automaker, which reshuffled its executive line-up last month, is still […]<\/p>\n
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