TOKYO — Toyota Motor expects to post a net income of 2.3 trillion yen ($21.1 billion) in the current business year through next March, up 2.4% from fiscal 2020, as the Japanese auto giant is bullish on prospects for higher sales given the rebound in demand following the plunge triggered by COVID-19.
The automaker’s operating income is projected at 2.5 trillion yen, up 13.8%, while revenues are forecast at 30 trillion yen, a 10.2 % increase. Toyota posted a net income of 2.24 trillion yen for fiscal 2020 ended March, up 10.3% from 2019.
Although shortages of automotive semiconductors are weighing heavily on global carmakers’ production, Toyota’s supply chain management appears to have lessened the effect of the squeeze compared with its rivals. It has focused on stockpiling key parts, including chips, after facing a serious supply shortage after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Toyota is known as a leader in overcoming the pandemic slowdown, backed by new car launches worldwide. Its global unit sales of both Toyota and Lexus cars fell by nearly half, year on year, last April, but recovered quickly. In March 2021, the company sold 980,000 vehicles, up 44% from the previous year, a record-high monthly sales figure.
In 2020, Toyota overtook Volkswagen by sales, regaining the crown as the world’s top-selling automaker for the first time in five years.
