Car Chat General discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

Toyota president feels 'sense of crisis' as profits tumble

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 05-10-17, 06:35 PM
  #16  
Toys4RJill
Lexus Fanatic
 
Toys4RJill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ON/NY
Posts: 31,441
Received 66 Likes on 57 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by EZZ
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm glad Lexus now has interesting products vs yawn inducing appliances.
I agree. Lexus is much .ore interesting and stylish than ever before.
Toys4RJill is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 06:46 PM
  #17  
PhilipMSPT
Cycle Savant
iTrader: (5)
 
PhilipMSPT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: In rehab...
Posts: 21,527
Received 7 Likes on 7 Posts
Default

So much fire and brimstone for profits.

Yes, the profitability is less, but that doesn't mean it's lacking success. This is a shareholders' problem, not necessarily the company.

In 10 years, cars will drive themselves. So, everyone's complaints about the lack of horsepower and track times will be moot. In general, that's not how you make (the best) profit.
PhilipMSPT is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 06:51 PM
  #18  
gengar
Lexus Test Driver

 
gengar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: NV
Posts: 5,285
Received 43 Likes on 33 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
That's assuming all of the cases are finally settled. It often takes years to get through the appeals-process today,
And again, what does this have anything to do with Toyota's FY2017 income?
gengar is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 07:12 PM
  #19  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 91,422
Received 87 Likes on 86 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by gengar
And again, what does this have anything to do with Toyota's FY2017 income?
And again, they may be still paying out settlements.
mmarshall is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 07:18 PM
  #20  
EZZ
Lexus Test Driver
 
EZZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 7,460
Received 228 Likes on 171 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
And again, they may be still paying out settlements.
Settlements aren't enough to impact profits and generally the analysts exclude one time charges in evaluating the strength of a stock. If the settlements did impact the P&L materially, Toyota would have disclosed the impact so analysts can exclude those charges against the current P&L. This comes down to reduced profitability due to overspending. Paying out settlements is completely irrelevant in Toyota's case. VW's situation is very different as their settlements are so large and egregious that it's materially impacting their entire operating structure.
EZZ is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 07:19 PM
  #21  
gengar
Lexus Test Driver

 
gengar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: NV
Posts: 5,285
Received 43 Likes on 33 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
And again, they may be still paying out settlements.
OK, so provide your evidence that Toyota is still paying out settlements and that it had any impact on their FY2017 income.
gengar is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 07:54 PM
  #22  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 91,422
Received 87 Likes on 86 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by gengar
OK, so provide your evidence that Toyota is still paying out settlements and that it had any impact on their FY2017 income.

Well, that was the point I was trying to make. We still don't know exactly how much, if any, impact it has (or will have). To state a given figure would be pure guesswork.

One thing, though that concerns me, with the money-situation, is that this could lead to more cost-cutting on vehicles that, IMO, already show too much of it. Toyota does some things very well (engine/drivetrain durability, for example)....but, in general, at least IMO, their interiors and hardware tends to be lightweight, somewhat flimsy-feeling, and unimpressive.

Last edited by mmarshall; 05-10-17 at 07:58 PM.
mmarshall is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 08:02 PM
  #23  
97-SC300
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (17)
 
97-SC300's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Earth
Posts: 9,238
Received 131 Likes on 109 Posts
Default

I agree with what people are saying. As much as I like some Lexus products I cannot see myself getting something like the new LX or GX because of what they did to the exterior designs (looks goofy), which is a shame because the interior on the new LX is amazing.

They finally accomplished what they always lacked, a unique company face and design. Unfortunately for them, that company face is pretty ugly (most people would agree).
97-SC300 is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 08:50 PM
  #24  
oldcajun
Racer
 
oldcajun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: AZ
Posts: 1,419
Received 49 Likes on 34 Posts
Default

As I read the article, sales are up a little, revenue is up, but the profit on this increased revenue is down. This generally points to a cost issue in either R&D, manufacturing, and/or sales. We know at least part of the problem is the cost of money due to an unfavorable exchange rate. With the new platform coming on line, short term manufacturing costs will be high due to new tooling, delays, and learning curve. With older designs and a view that products are not as desirable as competitors, sales prices are reduced and larger incentives are needed to keep volume up. With new platforms coming on line much of this profit issue should be reduced. The only big help for the exchange rate is the production of cars in other countries which Toyota is already pursuing.

The worst possible outcome of this focus on profits is massive cost cutting in the products. It has happened before, let's just hope it will be better managed this time.
Steve
oldcajun is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 09:19 PM
  #25  
rominl
exclusive matchup
Senior Moderator
iTrader: (4)
 
rominl's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lovely OC
Posts: 81,673
Received 190 Likes on 148 Posts
Default

if 20% drop in operating profit is true, that's a very big hit...

there are quite a few things toyota is facing, a lot of uphills
rominl is offline  
Old 05-10-17, 11:26 PM
  #26  
Mr. Burns
Lexus Champion
 
Mr. Burns's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canuckistan
Posts: 1,874
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

I assume this means decontenting and cost cuts to future Toyota vehicles is already in the works.
Mr. Burns is offline  
Old 05-11-17, 12:06 AM
  #27  
GTSLEX
Lead Lap
iTrader: (2)
 
GTSLEX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Nasty spindle grill that doesn't appeal to mass market and ancient power trains = poor sales = decrease in profit. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
GTSLEX is offline  
Old 05-11-17, 05:10 AM
  #28  
Johnhav430
Lexus Fanatic
 
Johnhav430's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: PA
Posts: 8,491
Received 372 Likes on 346 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns
I assume this means decontenting and cost cuts to future Toyota vehicles is already in the works.
I believe this is all car companies, and has been for nearly 10 years, not as extreme, but it's "sneaky" like the world's largest eTailer. Meaning, we give you this, which is flashy, but we take away that, which some or many might not notice. imho car co's products peaked sometime around 2005-2008, when it seemed like engineers had free rein...(one example of many, would be a car that in 2007-10 had a true dual exhaust, and then in 2011 had a fake dual exhaust costing 1/2, but at the rear bumper, looks the same, but this is already 6+ yrs. past). Now can your 2007 stream music, or have such high res on its nav screen, and come with a built in 4G LTE advanced hotspot (I don't get this one, what is the benefit? lol)? Forget about when you lift the vehicle that the true dual is gone and the control arms are made of steel....
Johnhav430 is offline  
Old 05-11-17, 06:01 AM
  #29  
SW17LS
Lexus Fanatic
 
SW17LS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Maryland
Posts: 57,617
Received 2,753 Likes on 1,968 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by GTSLEX
Nasty spindle grill that doesn't appeal to mass market and ancient power trains = poor sales = decrease in profit. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
You don't understand what the article is talking about. Sales are not poor, sales aren't down. Profitability is down. In fact, sales are up and revenue is up. PROFIT is down.

Just because one company sells more products doesn't at all mean they are more profitable. It's very possible for a company to sell far more product than a competitor and yet be far less profitable.

As for any unintended acceleration settlements, I agree this is a non issue. Thinking it is shows a lack of understanding about the scale of what we're talking about here. Those settlements were like you and me paying a $50 parking ticket, it has no impact on our bottom line.

Last edited by SW17LS; 05-11-17 at 06:07 AM.
SW17LS is offline  
Old 05-11-17, 06:04 AM
  #30  
gengar
Lexus Test Driver

 
gengar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: NV
Posts: 5,285
Received 43 Likes on 33 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by GTSLEX
Nasty spindle grill that doesn't appeal to mass market and ancient power trains = poor sales = decrease in profit. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
I'm not a fan of the spindle grill either, but as noted in the article, unit sales were actually up year-over-year.
gengar is offline  


Quick Reply: Toyota president feels 'sense of crisis' as profits tumble



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:45 AM.