Trump's tariffs hit Toyota profit, though its global sales grew

Audio By Carbonatix

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's profit fell 19% in the last fiscal year from a year earlier, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs bit into earnings at Japan’s top automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 3.85 trillion yen ($25 billion) profit for the fiscal year ended in March, down from nearly 4.8 trillion yen the previous fiscal year.

The maker of the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models said Friday that Trump’s tariff policies erased some 1.4 trillion yen ($9 billion) from its annual operating income.

Unfavorable trends in exchange rates also hit its profit margins, said Toyota, which is headquartered in Toyota city, central Japan.

Still it said it had held up relatively well, selling nearly 9.6 million vehicles around the world, up from about 9.4 million the year before.

The value of those sales rose 5.5% to 50.7 trillion yen ($323 billion) from 48 trillion yen the year before.

On a quarterly basis, Toyota’s profit jumped 23% to 817 billion yen ($5.2 billion) from 664 billion yen. January-March sales rose nearly 2% to 12.6 trillion yen ($80 billion).

Toyota expects to sell 9.6 million vehicles in the current fiscal year through March 2027. It’s keeping a relatively modest forecast for fiscal year profit at 3 trillion yen ($19 billion), citing potential impact from developments in the Middle East.

Toyota said it expects supply-chain disruptions due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively blocked because of the Iran war. Toyota’s vehicle sales in the Middle East also have dropped.

Japan imports almost all its oil, much of it from the Middle East. The war has boosted the price of oil and many other materials. Using longer shipping routes to skirt the route through the strait is adding to costs for many companies.

Toyota reiterated its vision of transforming into “a mobility company,” meaning it hopes to add boats and planes to its lineup. It also promised to continue innovating as it expands its reach outside the auto industry to other types of gadgetry like robotic arms that restack store shelves and devices to transport medical equipment.

The company said it would grow leaner, reorganizing its models and increasing local procurement, while cutting costs.

Toyota stocks fell 2.2% after its earnings were announced.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama