09-05-2025
Toyota sees 21% full-year profit decline as tariffs take a bite
Toyota Motor expects profit to decline by a fifth in this financial year, it said on Thursday as weakness in the US dollar and the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs weigh on the world's largest carmaker.
In the latest example of how global trade disruption is hitting bottom lines, the world's top-selling car manufacturer said it expected operating income to total ¥3.8-trillion (R474.2bn) in the year to March 2026, vs ¥4.8-trillion (R602.36bn) in the year that just ended.
Toyota's results also show how the tariffs have the potential to hit companies on a number of fronts simultaneously. While the carmaker estimated the levies directly costing it ¥180bn (R22.6bn) in April and May, it said currency movement would be the biggest single impact on its full-year forecast, at ¥745bn (R93.45bn).
Uncertainty around Trump's tariffs and their implication for global trade have weighed on the dollar. For Toyota, a weaker dollar means less profit when US earnings are brought home.
CEO Koji Sato told a press conference details of the tariffs were largely unclear, adding to the difficulty in navigating them.
'Whether these tariffs are permanent and what will happen is not something we can decide,' Sato said.
