Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp nearly doubled its earnings for the latest quarter from a year ago as new models drove sales higher in North America, Japan and Europe.
Profits for the October-December 2002 period totaled Japanese yen 216 billion (US$1.8 billion), up nearly 94 percent from Japanese yen 111 billion the same period in fiscal 2001, the company said yesterday.
Net sales totaled Japanese yen 4.2 trillion (US$35 billion), up 13 percent from Japanese yen 3.7 trillion.
The report comes just hours after Toyota announced it had picked San Antonio, Texas, for its next US plant -- its sixth vehicle assembly plant in North America.
It said it will build about 150,000 Tundra pickup trucks a year from 2006. Toyota light trucks are selling well in North America, although other models such as the Matrix hatchback, Corolla compact car and 4Runner sport-utility vehicle are also in demand.
The Toyota Camry was the top-selling passenger car in the US last year, outselling the Honda Accord, which held that title in 2001.
Analysts say Toyota has potential to sell more cars in North America, a lucrative market that is critical for its global ambitions. Toyota has said it hopes to control 15 percent of the world auto market by 2010.
Toyota's North American sales for the latest quarter totaled Japanese yen 1.6 trillion (US$13 billion), up 6 percent from a year ago. Toyota sold 533,311 vehicles in that region, up 16 percent from 461,514 a year ago.
Even in Japan, where an ailing economy has hobbled auto purchases, Toyota posted a 12 percent surge in sales to Japanese yen 2.9 trillion(US$24 billion) and sold 544,782 vehicles, up 8 percent, for the quarter.
Toyota's market share in Japan -- excluding tiny minivehicles not sold in the US -- totaled 43.6 percent, up 0.6 percent from the previous year.
In Europe, where the Corolla model proved popular, Toyota sales rose 31 percent to Japanese yen 406 billion (US$3 billion) and also climbed 10 percent in vehicle sales to 169,799 vehicles.
In other regions, mostly other Asian countries, Toyota sales totaled Japanese yen 488 billion (US$4 billion), up 62 percent, while 331,572 vehicles were sold, up 37 percent from a year ago. Toyota's overseas sales soared 21 percent for the quarter to 1.03 million vehicles.
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