Tokyo, Aug 7 (AP) Toyota’s profit plunged 37 per cent in the April-June quarter, the company said Thursday, cutting its full year earnings forecasts largely because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Japanese automaker said it based its report on the assumption that Trump’s tariffs on exports from Japan, including autos, would be 12.5 per cent starting this month. As of now they stand at 15 per cent.
The world’s top automaker also makes vehicles in Mexico and Canada. Toyota’s profit in the last quarter totalled 841 billion yen, or USD 5.7 billion, down from 1.33 trillion yen in the same period the year before. Its quarterly sales rose 3 per cent.
The status of those exports is unclear since Mexico and Canada are beneficiaries of the US Mexico Canada Agreement, renegotiated from a 1990s pact during Trump’s first term in office, that eliminated most tariffs and trade barriers between the three countries.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s April-June profit totalled 841 billion yen (USD 5.7 billion), down from 1.33 trillion yen in the same period of 2024. Quarterly sales rose 3 per cent to 12 trillion yen (USD 82 billion).
Toyota said the tariffs cost its quarterly operating profit 450 billion yen (USD 3 billion). Cost reduction efforts and the negative impact of an unfavourable exchange rate also hurt its bottom line.
The company, which makes the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models, forecast a 2.66 trillion yen (USD 18 billion) profit for the full fiscal year ending in March 2026, down from an earlier forecast for a 3.1 trillion yen (USD 21 billion) profit. Toyota earned nearly 4.8 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year.
“Despite a challenging external environment, we have continued to make comprehensive investments, as well as improvements such as increased unit sales, cost reductions and expanded value chain profits,” Toyota said in a statement that outlined its efforts to minimise the impact of the tariffs.
At the retail level, Toyota sold 2.4 million vehicles globally, with sales growing in Japan, North America and Europe from the previous year, when global retail totalled 2.2 million vehicles.
Analysts say Toyota is likely among the worst hit by the tariffs among global companies, even compared with other Japanese automakers. (AP) GSP
