Skip to main content

Toyota dreams of green car future, but tied to gas-guzzler present

Toyota Motor Corp is hitching its future to green cars, investing billions of dollars in gasoline-electric hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, but for now its record profit performance is being powered largely by a gas-guzzling U.S. market.

In the United States, relatively cheap gasoline prices helped to spur brisk 9 percent growth in industry-wide light truck sales in the first half of the year, making that one of the fastest-growing major global market segments - accounting for about one-tenth of global vehicle sales.

Toyota outperformed the overall U.S. market, moreover, with its fresh model line-up - the Highlander SUV was redesigned in February and the Tundra pick-up got a facelift last September - powering a 10 percent rise in its January-June U.S. light truck sales to nearly half a million vehicles.

That success is feeding the nearly $40 billion cash pile that Toyota will tap for future green car investments.

"The U.S. is one of the few bright spots contributing to year-on-year profit growth for Toyota while it faces a slowdown in places like Japan and Thailand," said Koichi Sugimoto, an auto analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

Light trucks, a category that includes SUVs, accounted for around 42 percent of Toyota's total U.S. sales in January-June, which were up 5 percent from a year earlier.

The strong showing continued in July, when Toyota's total U.S. sales rose 12 percent due to robust SUV demand and larger discounts, outperforming the industry's 9 percent growth and surpassing Ford Motor Co to become the No.2 seller for the month.

Analysts forecast that Toyota's April-June North American operating profit jumped at a double-digit rate from the same period a year ago, with Barclays auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida putting the figure at 106 billion yen ($1.03 billion), up 30 percent year-on-year. The company will announce its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

Toyota's North America numbers undercount the region's actual contribution to profits, since they exclude much of the profits made from imported vehicles. Most of what Toyota earns through exports from its home country are counted with Japan profits, which likely fell in April-June due to a sales tax hike in April that dented domestic sales.

Barclays' Yoshida forecasts Toyota's Japan operating profit at 381 billion yen for the quarter, a 16 percent drop. In Asia, he expects a 12 percent decline to 92 billion yen.

LUCRATIVE LIGHT TRUCKS

Overall operating profit at the world's biggest automaker is expected to drop 4 percent in April-June to 637.3 billion yen from the same period a year ago, according to the average forecast of 13 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the full year to next March, Toyota forecasts its profit will edge up 0.3 percent to 2.3 trillion yen, extending last year's record high.

Bigger vehicles such as light trucks tend to be more profitable than small cars.

For this financial year, Toyota is likely to make an operating profit of around $2,500 on average for every light truck such as the RAV4 or Tundra it sells in the United States. The figure for passenger cars such as the Prius or the Camry, Toyota's best-selling car in the United States, is about $1,500, said Koichi Sugimoto, an auto analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

While Toyota reaps hefty profits from U.S. light trucks, its sales of the Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid car, slumped 11 percent in the United States in the first half of the year.

_0">

Unlike Toyota's U.S. light truck line-up, the flagship Prius has not seen a model change in five years. But its fortunes are set for a boost as Toyota readies a fourth generation of the hybrid to hit showrooms as early as next year.

_1">

Toyota introduced the Prius in late 1997 and endured years of losses to establish dominance in the segment. After selling more than 6 million hybrids over 17 years, Toyota says it is now earning money on the Prius and aims to make its hybrids as profitable as its gasoline-engine cars.

_2">

Toyota will further burnish its image as a green technology pioneer next year when it readies a fuel-cell vehicle for launch by end-March.

_3">

But for the rest of this financial year, it's big gasoline-engine vehicles that will be underpinning Toyota's profits.

_4">

"They are 15 percent share of the U.S. market and they've got to sell what the market buys, for sure," said Kurt Sanger, autos analyst at Deutsche Securities in Tokyo. ($1 = 102.9100 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Alex Richardson)

_5">

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o