Toyota , which posted its first fiscal year loss in its modern history for fiscal 2008, says that stagnant sales are expected to drive the automaker into another loss for fiscal year 2009, which ends in March 2010. Analysts predict that the Japanese automaker’s loss might even exceed the 2008 loss.
Last fiscal year, which ended in March, Toyota lost about 500 billion yen. The automaker’s losses were driven down primarily by a slumping auto market in the second half of the fiscal year, but also by the yen’s depreciation compared to the dollar and euro.
Japan’s business newspaper, Nikkei, predicts that the loss might exceed 500 billion yen for this coming year. Toyota’s global sales, like that of nearly every automaker, have been down across the globe compared to last year’s figures.
Nikkei says that Toyota will evaluate its production system to further cut losses in an effort to further streamline its operations. Ironically, the “Toyota Way” has long been seen as the benchmark for efficiency and quality.
