A lot of automakers are facing the wrath of the current economic downturn and crisis and the Toyota Motor Corp. is no exception. Automakers have in the last few months seen a steep decline and Toyota, one of the largest of them is also reeling under the severe impact.
Another giant unable to stand the economic headwinds is BMW, the German automaker. BMW saw its third quarter profit plunging by 63 percent, especially as its sports and luxury segment did not sell well due to poor economic conditions. The company has further announced a cut down of at least 40,000 units in its second quarter production after issuing a profit warning again. However, in US the BMW saw a fall of just 5% which is very encouraging.
For the second time this year, Toyota scaled down its sales outlook in US to 2.2 to 2.6 million cars as compared to its 2.4 million cars in the month of July. Buoyed with a total sale of 2.62 million vehicles last year, Toyota expected to sell and forecast a sale of at least 2.64 million for this year. As with every other automaker, Toyota is reeling under the global financial crisis even as customer sentiment is severely deteriorating.
Thursday will see Toyota declaring its fiscal second quarter earnings. The Japanese giant is expected to release a figure of $2 million in spite of a major slowdown in growth for the three month duration, even as we see Detroit reeling and grasping at straws.