On February 9, Toyota Motor (TM.US), the world's largest automaker, released financial data for the third fiscal quarter of fiscal 2022 (October to December 2021) and the first three quarters of fiscal 2022 (april to December 2021 calendar year).
According to the financial report, Toyota Motor's revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 was 7.786 trillion yen (about 427 billion yuan), compared with 8.150 trillion yen (about 447 billion yuan) in the same period last year, down 4.5% year-on-year; operating profit was 784.37 billion yen (about 43 billion yuan), compared with 987.9 billion yen (about 54.2 billion yuan) in the same period last year, down 20.6% year-on-year.
Although Toyota Motor's revenue and profit fell in the third fiscal quarter, its financial performance in the first three quarters was still outstanding. In the first three quarters of fiscal 2022 (April-December 2021), Toyota Motor's revenue was 23.27 trillion yen (about 1.28 trillion yuan), an increase of 19.2% year-on-year; operating profit was 2.53 trillion yen (about 138.7 billion yuan), compared with 1.51 trillion yen (about 82.8 billion yuan) in the same period in fiscal 2021, a sharp increase of 67.9% year-on-year, and net profit increased by 57.8% year-on-year to 2.31 trillion yen (about 126.7 billion yuan).
However, Toyota also pointed out in the financial report that due to the shortage of chips and the epidemic, the company lowered its annual automobile production target from the previous 9 million vehicles to 8.5 million units, reducing production by 500,000 units.
The fiscal year production target is to reduce production by another 500,000 units
Toyota attributed the decline in revenue and profit in the third fiscal quarter to "supply constraints and sharp increases in raw material costs due to semiconductor shortages and the spread of COVID-19."
In fact, in 2021, in the context of the collective "chip shortage" in the global automotive industry, Toyota Motor, the former global auto sales champion, toyota has not been able to stand alone, and since the second half of 2021, Toyota has repeatedly announced production cuts or production suspension notices. The largest shutdown involved 27 production lines at 14 plants in Japan, and the longest shutdown lasted 38 days.
The impact of the lack of cores in 2022 is still spreading. In January, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it would suspend production of 11 production lines at eight plants in Japan in February this year, and Toyota officially estimated that the shutdown would reduce production by about 150,000 units. Affected by the temporary suspension of production in January this year, Toyota Motor's production plan was readjusted, and the number of plants that were discontinued was reduced, from 11 production lines at the previous eight plants to seven production lines at six plants.
In addition to the Japanese plant, Toyota Motor's production in the Chinese market has also been affected, after faw Toyota's factory in Tianjin was suspended due to the impact of the epidemic in Tianjin.
Toyota said, "We do not expect the shortage of chip supply to be resolved anytime soon, and it is not clear when the epidemic will develop, which may continue into the next fiscal year." Against this backdrop, Toyota has reduced its annual production target from 9 million units to 8.5 million units.
Net profit in the first three fiscal quarters reached a new high
It is worth mentioning that despite the poor performance of the third fiscal quarter, from the data of the first three fiscal quarters, Toyota Motor's revenue and net profit hit a record high in the first three fiscal quarters, and profit and net profit achieved a substantial increase of about 60% compared with the same period in fiscal 2021.
In the first three quarters of fiscal 2022 (April-December 2021), sales increased by 19.2% from the same period last year to 23.27 trillion yen (about 1.28 trillion yuan), operating profit increased by 67.9% year-on-year to 2.53 trillion yen (about 138.7 billion yuan), and net profit increased by 57.8% to 2.31 trillion yen (about 126.7 billion yuan).
Toyota motor said in the earnings report that this is mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates and the increase in sales. On the one hand, operating income affected by foreign exchange rates increased by 445 billion yen (about 24.4 billion yuan); on the other hand, the increase in sales in the first three fiscal quarters drove the growth of Toyota's revenue and profit.
According to the data, from April to December 2021, Toyota sold a total of 6.096 million vehicles worldwide, an increase of 112.1% year-on-year, and Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles sold 7.155 million units, an increase of 108% year-on-year. Japan and North America were Toyota's main markets, with 1.427 million units and 1.805 million units sold, respectively, 1.118 million units sold in Asia, 760,000 units sold in Europe, and 986,000 units sold in other regions. Based on this, Toyota Motor's profit margin rose further to 10.9% in April-December 2021, compared with 7.7% in April-December 2020.
However, Toyota Motor pointed out in its earnings report that due to the impact of soaring material prices, operating income decreased by 165 billion yen (about 9 billion yuan). In addition, Toyota motor adjusted its fiscal 2022 performance forecast, and its full-year sales forecast was lowered to 29.5 trillion yen (about 1.62 trillion yuan) from the previous 30 trillion yen (about 1.65 trillion yuan), but the full-year profit forecast remained unchanged at 2.8 trillion yen (about 153.5 billion yuan). According to Refinitiv data, this forecast is lower than the average forecast of 3.04 trillion yen (about 166.7 billion yuan) made by 27 analysts.
The "conservatives" launched an electrification counteroffensive
"Akio Toyoda: Electric vehicles are neither environmentally friendly nor save money" "Akio Toyoda Akio angrily intimidates the blind development of electric vehicles: the more electric vehicles, the more serious the carbon dioxide"... Under the headline of the traffic of Bo people's eyeballs, Toyota head Akio Toyoda has almost become a "diehard" in the automotive circle in 2021. Under the wave of intelligent electrification, everyone is looking forward to the huge power of the traditional car company elephant turning around and erupting, but the expression of "Toyota Akio shelling electric vehicles" that is often reported in the news seems to accuse the stagnation and opposite of the "elephant" in the high position.
The global wave of vehicle electrification is unstoppable, in the context of the rapid development of electrification in Europe, the United States, China and other places, Toyota Motor, which has previously focused more energy on hybrid technology and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and toyota motors, which are relatively conservative in the field of pure electricity, have finally launched a strong counterattack.
In mid-December 2021, standing in front of 16 pure electric vehicles, Toyota Akio officially announced Toyota's latest comprehensive electrification strategy - it is expected that by 2030, Toyota will introduce 30 pure electric vehicle models, and by 2030, the global annual sales of pure electric vehicles are planned to reach 3.5 million; it is expected that by 2030, Lexus will achieve a comprehensive product lineup of all its models to provide pure electric versions, and achieve 100% pure electric model sales in China, North America, and Europe. The company aims to sell 1 million units worldwide. By 2035, 100% of all-electric models will be sold worldwide.
In order to promote the electrification strategy, Toyota will invest 4 trillion yen (about 225 billion yuan) in the next 10 years to develop pure electric technology and products. In addition, 4 trillion yen will be invested in the development of technologies in the fields of hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
It is worth noting that the cover of the financial report released by Toyota Motor is the above 16 pure electric vehicles, and Toyota's determination to transform in the era of electrified vehicles is overflowing.
In the financial report, Toyota Motor also deliberately marked the proportion of sales of new energy vehicles. From April to December 2021, Toyota sold 1.983 million new energy vehicles, accounting for 27.7% of total sales. This figure was 19.9% for the same period in 2019 and 22.9% for the same period in 2020.
However, the 21st Century Business Herald reporter noted that Toyota's new energy vehicles are still mainly hybrid models (HEVs), selling 1.876 million units, accounting for nearly 95%, while pure electric models (BEVs) only sell 12,000 units. According to Toyota's forecast, Toyota aims to sell 2.65 million new energy vehicles in fiscal 2022 (April 2021 to March 2022), of which 2.53 million AREVs, 100,000 PHEVs, 15,000 BEVs, and 0.5 million FCEVs.