Toyota Motor Corp topped its sales target for the recently ended fiscal year, a positive sign ahead of the automaker’s earnings announcement next month, although analysts warn of a potentially challenging year ahead.
Last month, Toyota sold 903,031 vehicles, the automaker said yesterday, bringing the total to 9.51 million units for the business year through last month, its second-highest annual figure.
That is above the company’s most recent goal to sell 9.4 million vehicles. Toyota produced 8.57 million vehicles in the period, broadly in line with its forecast of 8.5 million units.
Photo: AFP
Over the past year, the world’s biggest automaker has faced soaring demand for vehicles. Robust sales in Asia and North America of models such as the RAV4 sport utility vehicle led Toyota to finish out the recent calendar year as the world’s top-selling automaker.
The tougher challenge for Toyota has been keeping production steady through a myriad of supply obstacles that have beleaguered global automakers over the past year.
Toyota has in recent months also dealt with fallout from factory stoppages in China, and supply disruptions caused by an earthquake and a cyberattack in Japan.
Separately, Nissan Motor Co yesterday said that it produced 3.39 million vehicles for the recently ended fiscal year, down 10.7 percent from a year earlier. Nissan sold 3.82 million units for the year, down 9 percent year-on-year.
Honda Motor Co produced 4.14 million vehicles for the period, down 8.6 percent from the previous year.
Mercedes-Benz AG attributed its better-than-expected earnings to higher prices for its vehicles, which outweighed supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.
Adjusted group earnings before interest and tax rose to 5.3 billion euros (US$5.62 billion) in the first quarter, the German company said yesterday, beating the average analyst estimate of 4.77 billion euros.
While Mercedes shipped fewer vehicles in the period, auto revenue still climbed 8 percent.
Shortages are disrupting auto output, but bolstering sticker prices for higher-end vehicles, including Mercedes’s flagship S-Class sedan and G-Class sport utility vehicle.
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