This is just more of the same. The gap is closing.
Toyota said Tuesday its net profit surged 34 percent in the July-September quarter, boosted by strong sales in the North American and European markets at a time its U.S. rivals are struggling.
The issues are complex, but the results are pretty simple.
This is almost like watching the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals.
The Japanese automaker, on pace to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world’s biggest automaker in coming years, also raised its profit forecast for the full fiscal year through March to $13.14 billion (1.55 trillion yen), up from an earlier 1.31 trillion yen.
So, not only is it good now, the past is even better than we thought!
Overall sales in the fiscal second quarter rose 17.3 percent to $49.4 billion (5.83 trillion yen). Sales were up in North America, due to the strong sales of redesigned models such as the RAV4 and Yaris, and the new model FJ Cruiser.
US automakers could learn a thing or 2 about redesigning vehicles.
“It looks like Toyota’s efforts to overtake GM are going according to plan,” said Shiichiro Kobayashi, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. “Basically, Toyota is eating the pie of the Big Three in the United States.”
That's almost a little too matter-of-fact for my liking.
Both GM and Ford Motor Co. reported losses in the most recent quarter, and in July Toyota for the first time beat Ford in U.S. vehicle market share.
One down, one to go.
“Our business is expanding,” said Takeshi Suzuki, Toyota senior managing director. “The biggest task is how to maintain quality and create cars that are competitive in terms of prices.”
That's the task of all manufacturers, Toyota just seems to be much better at it.
The results were in step with general good times for Japanese automakers. Nissan Motor Co.’s quarterly profit rose 31 percent. Honda Motor Co. said last month that second-quarter profit slipped, but it was still well into the black.
By contrast, GM posted a $115 million loss for the third quarter last week, saying its results reflected benefits of its turnaround plan. The company also continued to lose market share in the quarter. Globally, its share was 13.9 percent, down from 14.4 percent during the same period last year.
So, there doesn't seem to be anything standing in the way of the inevitable. And nothing coming out of Detroit gives anyone any reason to believe the outcome is not already a fait acomplie. Sad.
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