Toyota Motor cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 16% on Thursday, expecting a nearly $10bn (R177.48bn) hit from US tariffs on imported cars and grappling with higher material prices and a stronger yen.
The world's biggest carmaker cut its operating profit forecast for the financial year to end-March 2026 to ¥3.2 trillion (R385.18bn), down from a previous outlook of ¥3.8 trillion.
Toyota said it expects the US levies to reduce its profit by ¥1.4 trillion (R168.79bn) for the entire year. It had previously estimated a hit of ¥180bn (R21.7bn) for April and May, but it had not issued a full-year projection until now.
For the April to June first quarter, Toyota reported an operating profit of ¥1.17 trillion (R141bn), down from ¥1.31 trillion (R157.9bn) a year earlier, but above the ¥902bn (R108.7bn) average of seven analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Toyota's first-quarter results highlight the pressure US import tariffs are placing on Japanese carmakers, even as a trade agreement between Tokyo and Washington offers potential relief.
Under the bilateral deal agreed last month, Japanese car exports into the US would face a 15% tariff, down from levies totalling 27.5% previously. But a time frame for the change to go into effect has yet to be announced.
Last week, Toyota reported record global output and sales for the first half of the year, driven by strong demand in North America, Japan and China.
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