Toyota is among a dozen or so auto makers recalling altogether tens of millions of vehicles loaded with potentially rupture-prone Takata Corp.-made air bags, which have been linked to 10 deaths.
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Toyota Motor Corp. raised its profit forecast after surging sales of RAV4 sport utility vehicles and Lexus luxury models, putting it on track to become the first Japanese company to top 3 trillion yen ($25.7 billion) in annual operating profit.
The world’s best-selling vehicle maker said it expected to post a record net profit of ¥2.27-trillion ($19.43bn) in the year to March, up slightly from a previous forecast of ¥2.25-trillion as operating income in Asia picks up due to increased production efficiencies in China.
Its third-quarter net income was Y627.9 billion, above a mean estimate of Y615.5 billion according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
This year, the automaker is outpacing the profit of the rest of the Japanese automakers combined. The company kept its forecast for full-year operating profit unchanged at the 2.8 trillion yen stated in November. “This is why we’ve raised our profit forecast”, Managing Officer Tetsuya Otake told a results briefing today.
Toyota is said to be looking for alliances with Japanese carmakers as global firms look to reduce the development cost of new cars and try to meet stringent emission standards by forming partnerships.
Toyota’s total 2015 sales in the USA improved 5.3 percent to 2.5 million vehicles. For the year, it has set a US dollar rate of 120 yen, compared to a previous forecast of 118 yen.
The world’s biggest auto maker was the only car maker world-wide to sell more than 10 million vehicles past year, outselling Volkswagen AG and General Motors.
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The figures do not reflect the impact from the recent suspension of assembly plants in Japan due to an explosion at a steel plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.
