May 30, 2024 (MLN): Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales and production growth went into reverse in April, after a temporary suspension of Prius deliveries and a lull in Japan and China negated double-digit growth in Europe and North America, as Bloomberg reported.
Global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., fell 4.5% last month from a year earlier to 835,788 vehicles, the company said Thursday. Sales in China slumped 27%, and deliveries in Japan fell 14%.
That offset gains of 20% in Europe and 16% in North America. Global output declined 8.8% to 816,601 units.
Toyota’s production, sales, and share price broke records throughout the fiscal year that ended in March.
It sold 11.1 million vehicles during that period, and raked in an operating profit of ¥5.4 trillion ($34.3 billion) — the first time a Japanese company has ever surpassed ¥5tr.
The stock doubled during the last financial year, reaching a record ¥3,872 on March 22. It’s down about 14% since then.
Still, the industry-wide shift to battery-powered electric vehicles poses a quandary for the world’s biggest carmaker.
As EVs lose steam and hybrid cars regain popularity, Toyota has doubled down on its “multipathway approach” by unveiling the prototype of a so-called carbon neutral engine that can burn gasoline, hydrogen and alternative fuels.
This engine, Chief Executive Officer Koji Sato said Tuesday, will be smaller, stronger and more efficient than previous internal combustion engines, making it ideal for use in next-generation plug-in hybrids built using battery EV manufacturing platforms.
“We’re serious about BEVs and we’re serious about hydrogen,” Sato said. “We believe the combustion engine still has a role to play in a carbon neutral society, but it needs to be more efficient to survive.”
Toyota secured a $322m loan for its EV battery plant in North Carolina, it said Tuesday.
It revealed plans last week to invest more than $530m in its Texas plant where it manufacturers the Tundra pick up truck and Sequoia SUV.
The company announced it would invest an additional ¥500bn in plans to decarbonize and develop next-generation software.
Plans to buy back up to ¥1tr — or around 3% — of its shares build on recent efforts to free up cash to proactively invest in growth areas.
Toyota will restart domestic deliveries of the Prius around June 14, according to a Kyodo report, after 135,000 vehicles were recalled in April following reports of rear doors opening while the car was in motion.
Honda Motor Co.’s global sales fell 1.8% to 302,511 units in April, the company said Thursday, the first decline in nine months.
Output rose 16% to 316,679 last month from a year earlier.
Nissan Motor Co.’s April sales dropped 5.7% to 243,291 units, while output rose more than 10% to 264,308 vehicles.
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Posted on: 2024-05-30T12:58:50+05:00
