Toyota has raised its forecasts for fiscal 2027 despite a slight drop in first-quarter volumes, expecting a rebound in the second half and a record calendar-year result for electrified cars.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Toyota sold 2.395 million vehicles worldwide, which was 99.3 percent of the result from a year earlier. Combined with Lexus, the total reached 2.552 million units, or 96.5 percent of the previous year’s level. The main factor behind the dip was weaker demand in the Middle East.
The company’s largest market, the United States, recorded a similarly mild decline. Japan, by contrast, saw sales grow by nearly 9 percent, while Asia rose by 4.3 percent and Europe by 3 percent, with 307,000 vehicles delivered on the continent.
Electrified lineup accelerates
Electrified vehicles accounted for more than half of all Toyota and Lexus deliveries. Their volume expanded by 12.4 percent to 1.41 million units, even though total sales slipped. The fastest growth came from battery-electric cars, which jumped by 141.1 percent to 114,000 units, still a marginal share of the mix.
Conventional hybrids remained the backbone of the lineup, with 1.238 million sold, up 6.7 percent year on year. Plug-in hybrids added 58,000 units, an increase of 24.5 percent.
Higher profit targets and new risks
Revenue rose to 13.525 trillion yen, or about 74 billion euros, despite lower volumes. Operating profit reached 1.063 trillion yen (5.8 billion euros), while net profit stood at 1.477 trillion yen (8.1 billion euros).
Toyota now expects full-year fiscal 2027 sales of 9.7 million vehicles, 1 percent more than in the previous forecast. Including Lexus, groupwide volume is seen above 10.5 million units. The company lifted its European target to 1.22 million cars and counts on stronger demand in North America as well as a recovery in the Middle East.
Projected sales value has been raised to 54 trillion yen, or 300 billion euros, and net profit to 3.25 trillion yen, or 18 billion euros. The outlook may still change, however. The Middle East crisis continues to threaten regional demand, and the recent earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture could disrupt supplies of components to Toyota’s Miyata, Kanda and Kokura plants, even though the automaker has no factory in the affected area.
In calendar-year terms, Toyota expects to sell 5.03 million electrified vehicles in 2026, which would be the first time it exceeds 5 million in a single calendar year. To keep up with demand, the company is modernizing a Japanese battery plant that currently produces packs for around 600,000 vehicles in 2027 and 2028, aiming for higher capacity and lower costs.
Toyota has also confirmed plans for a second factory in the United States, scheduled to start operations in 2030, and a fourth plant in India, expected in 2029. The third Indian plant is set to begin production this year.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: Toyota press materials
