Source: AFP
Toyota said on Wednesday it enjoyed a net profit of 4.94 trillion yen ($31.9 billion) in the year to March on revenue of 45.1 trillion yen, also an all-time high.
But the world’s biggest carmaker by sales warned that net profit would fall 27.8 percent this fiscal year to 3.57 trillion yen due to investments, according to a statement.
Results for 2023-24 were helped by foreign currency effects, particularly the weak yen, as well as strong sales, particularly of hybrid vehicles.
They beat the company’s February forecast of net profit of 4.5 trillion yen on revenue of 43.5 trillion yen.
Toyota’s previous record annual net profit was 2.85 trillion yen in 2021-2022. For revenue it was 37.15 trillion yen in the next fiscal year.
Last month Toyota said it sold 11.1 million vehicles across all brands in the 2023-24 financial year, a 5 percent increase and the first time it topped 10 million.
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A big factor was a 31 percent jump to 3.7 million in sales of hybrid vehicles — combining internal combustion engines and batteries — such as the Corolla compact car and RAV4 sport utility vehicle.
Pure electric car sales were a much more modest 116,500.
Toyota pioneered hybrid cars with the popular Prius model, but critics say the company has been slow to adopt pure battery powertrains, even as demand soars for low-emissions vehicles.
Japanese automakers are now trying to catch up, with Toyota aiming to sell 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030.
The company also hopes to mass-produce solid-state batteries, a potentially hugely important technological breakthrough that could mean faster charging times and longer range.
In 2023, China surpassed Japan as the world’s largest vehicle exporter, a shift fueled by the country’s dominance of electric cars.
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Toyota also trailed Elon Musk’s EV giant Tesla in terms of market value, though the gap — nearly $1 trillion in 2021 — has narrowed sharply.
Toyota’s market capitalization has soared 34% this year, while Tesla’s — which sold 1.8 million vehicles last year — has fallen 28% over the same period.
In China, the world’s largest electric car market, dominated by local companies such as BYD, Toyota sold only 1.9 million vehicles, up 1.4 percent.
Source: AFP