6 Major Japan Automakers See Improved Earnings in April-June

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Six of seven major Japanese automakers reported improved consolidated earnings for April-June, recovering from lower profits or net losses recorded a year earlier due to the impact of the U.S. high tariff policy, according to their latest earnings reports released by Wednesday. Notably, Toyota Motor Corp.’s net profit jumped 75.6 pct from a year before to 1,477 billion yen, topping 1 trillion yen for the first time in two years in an April-June quarter. While Honda Motor Co. posted a roughly 2.3-fold increase in net profit, Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. returned to profit after reporting net losses a year earlier. The major automakers, excluding Subaru Corp., posted improved earnings partly thanks to a reduction in tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration based on a Japan-U.S. agreement, as well as a weaker-than-expected yen. Robust vehicle sales in North America and Japan also contributed to their earnings. The momentum of rising raw materials prices amid tensions in the Middle East “slowed somewhat in June and didn’t increase as much as expected,” Honda’s Chief Financial Officer Masao Kawaguchi said. In March, Honda announced that it expected consolidated losses of up to 2.5 trillion yen over two fiscal years due to a major shift in its electric vehicle strategy, including the cancellation of the development and launch of some EV models. Although Honda expects to incur compensation costs for component suppliers affected by the change in the fiscal year ending in March 2027, the company did not record such costs in the first-quarter report because the matter remains under discussion, Kawaguchi explained. All seven major automakers posted sales growth in the first quarter, reflecting strong demand in the United States, particularly for hybrid vehicles, a segment where Japanese automakers have a competitive edge. In China, meanwhile, Japanese automakers, especially Toyota and Honda, faced challenges from a shrinking market due to an economic slowdown and a shift to EVs amid high crude oil prices. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]