Models pose with Toyota Motor Corps redesigned "Vitz" compact cars at an unveiling in Yokohama, south of Tokyo December 22, 2010. (News Today) - A disastrous recall in 2010 meant Toyota Motor was unable to make the most of a recovering U.S. auto market. This year, its heavy dependence on manufacturing in Japan could limit the company's potential again.
Last year ended with Toyota losing market share in the U.S. -- its second largest market by volume -- even as overall sales recovered. Toyota sold 1.8 million units in the U.S. last year - 15.2% of the entire market.
Even if its share doesn't budge, just riding the greater U.S. rebound - say to 12.5 million units this year from 2010's 11.6 million -- would mean almost 140,000 more cars leaving dealerships.
One positive factor this year is the release of a new version of the mid-size Camry, which was the No. 1 selling car in the U.S., despite a 8.1% drop in Camry sales. Interest in the new car should increase showroom traffic.
There's good news outside of the U.S. too. Toyota accounts for one-third of sales volume in Southeast Asia, where sales are forecast to rise 5% this year to 2.3 million, says J.D. Power and Associates. In Indonesia, which is expected to displace Thailand as the largest market in the region in 2013, Toyota has a 40% share.
But not all of this sales growth will find its way back to Toyota's bottom line, thanks to its still heavy dependence on Japan as a production base. Toyota produces only two-thirds of its U.S. sales in the U.S. Honda Motor, by comparison, makes nearly 90% of its vehicles there, making it less exposed to currency swings.
Assuming an exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar, it will cost Toyota 600,000 yen more to manufacture a vehicle in Japan than in North America in the fiscal year starting in April, CLSA says. With an estimated 2 million units of export next year from Japan, that'll translate to nearly $15 billion in additional costs - enough to build one-and-a-half brand new manufacturing plants, the brokerage says.
As the dominant brand in Japan, Toyota also has greater exposure to the secular domestic sales slide, as more and more people forego purchasing cars. True, sales jumped 10% in Japan last year, the company said Monday, but that was mainly because of one-off government incentives to spur sales of fuel-efficient autos.
Toyota's happy to see 2010 through the rear view mirror. But it still has its work cut out for it.
Source : kompas
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