Toyota Motor Corp. recently ceded its title as the world's best-selling automaker to archrival Volkswagen AG. Yet the company's biggest adversary this year may be U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan's largest automaker expects profit to fall to ¥1.7 trillion for the fiscal year ending next month, about a quarter less than the previous annual period. The forecast given Monday — still less than analysts' consensus — reflects challenges including a stronger yen and flagging U.S. demand for passenger cars like the Camry sedan.
Trump's opposition to imported vehicles risks making company President Akio Toyoda's job even more difficult. Toyota has invested about $22 billion in the U.S. and would likely need more than $1 billion and several years to add to the six plants it has already built in politically conservative U.S. states. The company still imports a significant proportion of high-value components like engines and transmissions, said Takaki Nakanishi, the top-ranked auto analyst for six consecutive years through 2009 in rankings by Nikkei Veritas.