BRUSSELS ? Toyota Europe's boss reconfirmed that the company's automaking operations will make money for the first time in five years.
"Despite a difficult market, we are on track to return our automotive operations to a profit in the current fiscal year," Toyota Europe CEO Didier Leroy told Automotive News Europe.
Leroy first made the profitability prediction early this year, before economic conditions in Europe worsened. Europe is Toyota's fourth-largest market, after North America, Asia (excluding Japan) and Japan.
The company credits a deep restructuring that started in mid-2010 with the financial turnaround of its European business. The cuts have made it possible for Toyota Europe to turn a profit at a volume of a little more than 800,000 vehicles, which is what the company expects to sell in Europe in its fiscal year ending in March 2013.
In the past, Toyota Europe sold more cars, but its automaking business remained in the red. The company's automotive unit last made a profit in 2007 when it sold a record of almost 1.3 million vehicles in its 56-country European region.
But the auto division has been losing money since then.
To hit the financial target Toyota is relying less on boosting volume ? the automaker only expects European unit sales to rise by 10,000 from the 822,000 vehicles sold in its 2012 fiscal year ? than on streamlining costs.
An example is that Toyota has moved Turkey production of the Auris compact to the UK so that the Turkish plant can make the Corolla (from which the Auris is derived) for the local market as well as central and eastern Europe.
The Japanese automaker also wants to increase its market share in Europe to 5 % to 5.5 % in the next five years from about 4.2 % last year.
"Despite a difficult market, we are on track to return our automotive operations to a profit in the current fiscal year," Toyota Europe CEO Didier Leroy told Automotive News Europe.
Leroy first made the profitability prediction early this year, before economic conditions in Europe worsened. Europe is Toyota's fourth-largest market, after North America, Asia (excluding Japan) and Japan.
The company credits a deep restructuring that started in mid-2010 with the financial turnaround of its European business. The cuts have made it possible for Toyota Europe to turn a profit at a volume of a little more than 800,000 vehicles, which is what the company expects to sell in Europe in its fiscal year ending in March 2013.
In the past, Toyota Europe sold more cars, but its automaking business remained in the red. The company's automotive unit last made a profit in 2007 when it sold a record of almost 1.3 million vehicles in its 56-country European region.
But the auto division has been losing money since then.
To hit the financial target Toyota is relying less on boosting volume ? the automaker only expects European unit sales to rise by 10,000 from the 822,000 vehicles sold in its 2012 fiscal year ? than on streamlining costs.
An example is that Toyota has moved Turkey production of the Auris compact to the UK so that the Turkish plant can make the Corolla (from which the Auris is derived) for the local market as well as central and eastern Europe.
The Japanese automaker also wants to increase its market share in Europe to 5 % to 5.5 % in the next five years from about 4.2 % last year.
