SuperiorInvestor Blog » Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) Still Faces Major Uncertainty

Darren — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:39:48 +0000

Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM) is still facing major uncertainty, the Nikkei reported today.

Despite the preliminary findings of a U.S. Transportation Department investigation that indicate driver error may have been a contributing factor in cases of sudden acceleration problems, the newspaper said that Toyota is not out of the woods yet.

Toyota Motors still faces uncertainty after new car sales in the U.S. fell 3% on the year in July.

The entire global auto industry has been suffering from a slowdown as the economic recession has taken its toll on car buyers.

Brutal January Coming For Big Three

Darren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:29:51 +0000

The Big Three automakers are in for a brutal January, according to analyst Jim Gillette. Sales are so bad in the auto industry worldwide, that job cuts are expected from every major auto maker as they’ve all been forced to cut production.

Chrysler LLC said it would extend the traditional two-week winter break at all U.S. factories to at least a month, CNNMoney reported. Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it would stop producing cars at 10 plants for an extra week in January.

GM announced last week it would temporarily close 20 factories and lower production by 250,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2009.

The bailout of the auto industry is still being debated and is dominating the latest business news. The executives of the Big Three all claim they can’t make it through the month without government aid.

As they all cut back on production and shutter their factories, you can’t help but wonder if they’ll ever make it back to their former glory.

Toyota Sales Likely To Be Down

Darren — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:27:20 +0000

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) is fighting to keep their sales figures in line with projections, but an increasingly tough market in the U.S. and Europe will make that difficult.

Senior Managing Director Yoichiro Ichimaru said the company is sticking with current projections, despite difficulties in the overall global economy.

“When we look at our numbers, we see things are very critical,” Ichimaru said. “U.S. and Europe sales are getting seriously hit because of the economic conditions.”

In a sign of the times, Toyota last week offered Zero-percent financing to encourage U.S. consumers to buy cars. This was the first such offer ever introduced by the company in North America.

In September, Toyota suffered a 32% decrease in U.S. auto sales from 2007.

Toyota To Build Prius In Blue Springs, Mississippi

Heather — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:25:58 +0000

Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM) recently announced plans to build their eco-friendly hybrid car, the Prius at a new facility currently under construction in Blue Springs, Mississippi.

Production is expected to begin in late 2010.

This decision was spurred by growing demands for smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Originally the Blue Springs factory was going to be used to manufacture the Highlander a mid size Sports Utility Vehicle. Production of the Highlander will be moved to Princeton, Indiana in the fall of 2009.

Deeply lower demand for large trucks is also consolidating the manufacture of the Toyota Tundra to their plant in San Antonio. The Tundra is now built in Indiana and Texas. Toyota is suspending production of the Tundra and the Sequoia on August 8, 2008 with production expected to resume in early November.

Toyota stock is in the low $90′s in late morning trading today.