Posted on 04/22/2009 11:48:05 PM PDT by RC one
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, posted its third straight quarterly drop in sales after demand plunged in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
Sales fell 27 percent to 1.77 million vehicles in the three months ended March 31, from 2.41 million a year ago, Yuta Kaga, a Toyota spokesman said in Tokyo today. The figures include Toyota’s Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. subsidiaries.
Toyota has forecast its first annual loss in 59 years, as rising unemployment and tighter credit sapped car demand in the U.S., its traditionally most-profitable market. The global recession has forced Toyota and other Japanese automakers to cut jobs and production, while Detroit automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have turned to the U.S. government for aid to survive.
The loss is a forecast (Did Toyota even say that or is that the author’s writing?), in which it is to early to be saying that. Fifty-nine years ago was 1950, so this is defiantly the worse economic climate that they have faced in Post WWII Japan. So it shouldn’t be surprising. Plus we had been living in high inflation for the past two decades, so again companies getting knocked down isn’t surprising. The problem for the auto industry is the time and capital in gearing up makes it difficult to wind down in a recession or even a depression. It’s not like they can just sell off new or older factories to other automakers in the same predicament.
Yes it is. And I heard its even worse over at Honda. Honda folded its F1 racing team which it had invested billions into over the years right before the 2009 season was supposed to start. The chief engineer of the team whose English took it over from them and is running it as an independant team now called Brawn GP. The japanese car makers are being absolutely hammered right now by the global credit crisis.
Historical Note: They built jap LCVP's for the IJN in WWII. Pretty good ones, theirs were armour plated and had ok speed. Ours (Higgins) were plywood pieces of crap that could barely move.
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