Toyota doubles profits as EV push ramps up
Toyota Motor Corp nearly doubled its profits in its first quarter results, on the back of strong sales and an improved supply of semi-conductors.
The Japanese automaker saw operating profits for the period between April and June rise 94 per cent to 1.2trn yen (£6.12bn), up from 578.66bn yen (£3.15bn) year-on-year.
Sales revenues jumped 24.2 per cent to 10.5trn yen (£57.36bn).
The world’s largest carmaker said that sales volume had “increased in all regions due to productivity improvement efforts promoted with suppliers, in addition to an improvement in the supply and demand situation for semiconductors.”
However, it noted some delivery delays for its newer models.
The results give the first indication of Toyota’s performance following the unveiling of a series of new strategies to bolster its performance in the electric vehicle (EV) market, namely in China where it has struggled to keep up with competitors BYD, Tesla and Xpeng.
Sales of its EV vehicles increased 30 per cent for the quarter.
In June, Toyota unveiled what it described as groundbreaking new EV battery technology to improve the range and shorten charging times for its electric makes.
Toyota claim the technologies will “change the future of EVs,” by massively reducing the cost and efficiency of its electric cars.
The Tokyo-based automaker had already pledged a cash injection of $35bn (£27.76bn) by 2030 to move to a cleaner fleet, but has faced a number of challenges including an aggressive price war in China with Elon Musk’s Tesla.
In January, Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda announced that he would step down as head of the firm to become chair, and was replaced by Koji Sato, amid the overhaul of its EV strategy.