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In Japan this morning Toyota Motor said that during the first half of Fiscal Year 2021* during the Covid Crisis that profits were maintained even though sales, operating income and margins dropped drastically. Furthermore a special dividend would be declared that appears risky given the ongoing spread and re-emergence of Covid in most of its major markets. The Outlook updated from May was increased to 8.6 million vehicle sales (+600K) and now projects 1300 billion Yen, up 800 billion Yen – bold but not unattainable predictions in AutoInformed’s view.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda made an appearance – the first time that Akio came to the interim financial results briefing since he became president. Normally, the person in charge of accounting and finance presented at the briefing, so it was a break from tradition – highly unusual for the Japanese culture. Toyoda was immediately asked why? (To defend the dividend increase to the stock markets. – Editor) “We thought that a forecast by Toyota would serve as a kind of signpost for those in the automotive industry, especially in these times of much uncertainty regarding the future due to the COVID-19 crisis. So, at our year-end results announcement in May this year, we issued a full-year forecast for 8 million units in worldwide new vehicle sales and 500 billion yen in operating income,” Toyoda said.
“I believe that the upward revisions to our forecast this time are due not only to our initiatives of these six months, but also to our initiatives over the past 11 years making Toyota stronger as a company step-by-step. The increased strength of our financials and profit structure has also contributed, but I think that the No. 1 factor has been that the people working for Toyota have grown stronger.
“At our manufacturing plants, we voluntarily produced face masks and medical face shields needed by society. On plant non-operation days, all members engaged in kaizen (continuous improvement) and greatly improved productivity.
“On the sales front, online sales and other initiatives allowed us to continue building relationships with our customers. Every single vehicle ordered by our customers keeps our plants and the economy going. To be able to keep on producing one vehicle at a time, I believe that our members in both production and sales desperately and fully devoted themselves to their work. That led to a rapid sales recovery.
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“Toyota’s sales recovery at the time of the global financial crisis (The Republican Great Recession in the US that led to auto company bailouts – editor) lagged behind the market by four percent, but in the case of the COVID-19 crisis, our sales recovery outpaced the market by more than three percent. I believe that this is the result of our ever-better cars being made by everyone and the effort to deliver them to our customers,” Toyoda said.
*(the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Toyota Sustaining Some Profits During FY 2021 Covid Crisis
Click to Enlarge.
In Japan this morning Toyota Motor said that during the first half of Fiscal Year 2021* during the Covid Crisis that profits were maintained even though sales, operating income and margins dropped drastically. Furthermore a special dividend would be declared that appears risky given the ongoing spread and re-emergence of Covid in most of its major markets. The Outlook updated from May was increased to 8.6 million vehicle sales (+600K) and now projects 1300 billion Yen, up 800 billion Yen – bold but not unattainable predictions in AutoInformed’s view.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda made an appearance – the first time that Akio came to the interim financial results briefing since he became president. Normally, the person in charge of accounting and finance presented at the briefing, so it was a break from tradition – highly unusual for the Japanese culture. Toyoda was immediately asked why? (To defend the dividend increase to the stock markets. – Editor) “We thought that a forecast by Toyota would serve as a kind of signpost for those in the automotive industry, especially in these times of much uncertainty regarding the future due to the COVID-19 crisis. So, at our year-end results announcement in May this year, we issued a full-year forecast for 8 million units in worldwide new vehicle sales and 500 billion yen in operating income,” Toyoda said.
“I believe that the upward revisions to our forecast this time are due not only to our initiatives of these six months, but also to our initiatives over the past 11 years making Toyota stronger as a company step-by-step. The increased strength of our financials and profit structure has also contributed, but I think that the No. 1 factor has been that the people working for Toyota have grown stronger.
“At our manufacturing plants, we voluntarily produced face masks and medical face shields needed by society. On plant non-operation days, all members engaged in kaizen (continuous improvement) and greatly improved productivity.
“On the sales front, online sales and other initiatives allowed us to continue building relationships with our customers. Every single vehicle ordered by our customers keeps our plants and the economy going. To be able to keep on producing one vehicle at a time, I believe that our members in both production and sales desperately and fully devoted themselves to their work. That led to a rapid sales recovery.
Click to Enlarge.
“Toyota’s sales recovery at the time of the global financial crisis (The Republican Great Recession in the US that led to auto company bailouts – editor) lagged behind the market by four percent, but in the case of the COVID-19 crisis, our sales recovery outpaced the market by more than three percent. I believe that this is the result of our ever-better cars being made by everyone and the effort to deliver them to our customers,” Toyoda said.
*(the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.