A 34 percent rise at the world's second-largest automaker puts it in position to surpass GM.


Toyota, Japan's top carmaker, said net profit jumped 34 percent in the quarter ended Dec. 31, helped by the popularity of its fuel-efficient hybrids.


Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press

TOKYO -- Toyota, whose solid growth could put it ahead of General Motors Corp. as the world's No. 1 automaker, reported a 34 percent rise in profit Tuesday for the quarter ended Dec. 31 as sales jumped in North America and Asia.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest automaker, marked a record group net profit of 397.6 billion yen ($3.3 billion) during the three months, up from 296.5 billion yen the same period a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter were also a record for the company at 5.33 trillion yen ($45 billion), up 15 percent from 4.64 trillion yen the previous year.

Koichi Sugimoto, auto analyst at Nomura Securities Co., said Toyota is finally raking in the benefits from the investments in plants and car development the automaker made in the past to keep up with growing global demand.

"The October-December quarter is when Toyota will start doing fantastic business in a real way," he said.

Toyota said it expects to sell 7.95 million vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 31, above the 7.4 million vehicles sold the previous year but 80,000 vehicles fewer than the 8.03 million vehicles projected in November. Toyota said sales growth in North America was unlikely to offset anticipated drops in Japan and the rest of Asia from the earlier forecast.

Toyota's annual projection for fiscal 2005 is still fewer than GM's yearly sales, but if trends continue, Toyota will overtake the Detroit automaker in the next few years, some analysts say. GM sold 9.17 million vehicles worldwide in 2005, the most it has sold in 27 years.

Tsuyoshi Mochimaru, auto analyst for Deutsche Securities in Tokyo, said Toyota was definitely on its way to further growth although GM may also succeed in selling more cars, especially outside the United States.

"Toyota has achieved success by simply working hard to build quality cars and using its financial strength to make wise investments," Mochimaru said.

Toyota's results stand out even compared to other Japanese automakers.

Honda Motor Co. recently reported its best ever quarterly sales although its profits were hurt by losses unrelated to its auto operations such as securities holdings. Nissan Motor Co.'s profit for the latest quarter edged up slightly as sales jumped 10 percent.

source : detnews