Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday said it had raised its group net profit forecast for the current business year on hopes that the yen remains comparatively weak against its major counterparts, reports Xinhua. The Aichi Prefecture-based automaker said it now expects a group net profit of 2.35 trillion yen (21.39 billion U.S. dollars) in the year ending March 31.
This compares to a previous estimate of 2.15 trillion yen (19.58 billion U.S. dollars). The maker of the ubiquitous Prius models of hybrid car also upwardly revised its group operating profit forecast to 2.50 trillion yen (22.76 billion U.S. dollars), up from a previous projection of 2.40 trillion yen (21.85 billion U.S. dollars), it said.
Its estimated sales target was left unchanged, however, at 29.50 trillion yen (268.65 billion U.S. dollars), Toyota said. Toyota, which has seen solid sales of its vehicles in its North American market, particularly of its crossovers and compact SUVs like the RAV4 and C-HR, said it expects the yen to remain comparatively low versus its counterparts for the rest of the year, which will help bolster its profits made overseas when repatriated.
Recent industry data showed that Toyota booked the second-highest amount in global auto sales in 2019, overtaking the three-way alliance between Nissan Motor Co., Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, sold 1.4 percent more vehicles in 2019 than a year earlier, shifting a record 10.74 million units globally to book the second spot behind Volkswagen AG.
According to the data, solid sales in its North American market helped the automaker's overall global sales in the recording period. In terms of models, Toyota attributed its climb to solid sales of its luxury Lexus-brand cars as well as its SUVs, with the total sales also comprising those of its Daihatsu Motor Co. mini-vehicles and Hino Motors Ltd. trucks.
Toyota said looking ahead, it expects to sell 10.73 million vehicles worldwide in the current fiscal year, which is 30,000 units more than auto giant's previous projection.