Toyota Is Doing Great Everywhere Except In North America

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, August 1, 2023, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place.

1st Gear: North America Isn’t Letting Toyota Be Its Best Self

Toyota says it has just about doubled its operating profits during the last quarter. The world’s largest automaker has reportedly kicked sales up a notch around the globe, and it has been ramping up supply on free-flowing semiconductor shipments. From April to June, Toyota’s operating profit jumped to $7.75 billion from $4 billion a year earlier.

Unfortunately for the automaker, North America didn’t get the memo. From Automotive News:

Operating margin in North America, the company’s top market, languished at 3 percent in the quarter, below that in other regions, such as 14 percent in Japan and 6.3 percent in Europe.

“We are not satisfied with an operating profit margin of 3 percent in North America, and we need to raise this more,” a Toyota official said. “As we will be making battery-related investments and producing BEVs there, we will need to prepare for such spending from now. And thus, we will need cash. Our operating profit margin is not at a sufficient level.”

North America, the carmaker’s biggest market, and China — an increasingly tough market for Japanese brands — each posted modest sales gains in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30.

North American sales rose 7.4 percent; China deliveries increased 8.6 percent. Sales in these key regions trailed a global sales increase of 16 percent in the April-June quarter, and a 32 percent gain in sales in Japan, Toyota’s second-biggest regional business.

The outlet reports that Toyota says it’s now trying to improve some “business efficiencies” in North America and China, and would work to streamline its EV business in China by consolidating research and development efforts in the country. The goal is ultimately maximizing profitability from existing internal combustion and hybrid vehicles to generate funds to invest in upcoming electric vehicles.

2nd Gear: Hyundai and Kia Can’t Stop Winning

Despite the recent headlines surrounding Hyundai and Kia , the Korean automakers’ vehicle sales rose for the 12th consecutive month in July, thanks mostly due to rising inventories, higher retail and fleet business as well as discounts. For Hyundai, deliveries reportedly rose 10 percent last month, accounting for 66,527 units. The automaker says it will end July with 47,836 vehicles in stock, when this time last year, stock was at 14,784.

Kia also had an incredibly strong month, setting a July sales record of 70,930 units. That’s a 14 percent increase over last year, and retail volume jumped 13 percent to 66,485 vehicles. A big chunk of those sales can be attributed to sales of EVs, which rose 72 percent, and utility vehicles, which rose 17 percent. From Automotive News:

Hyundai and Kia, like the rest of the industry, have hiked incentives in recent months as inventories rebound from historic lows that stemmed from chronic parts shortages. In the second quarter, U.S. discounts and marketing promotions at Kia and Hyundai rose to over $1,000 per vehicle from a year earlier, Motor Intelligence said, though they remain below most other mass-market brands.

[…]

U.S. light-vehicle sales are forecast to rise 15 to 18 percent in July, based on estimates from Cox Automotive, J.D. Power-GlobalData and S&P Global Mobility.

The market, which rose 13 percent in the first six months of the year, continues to be supported by healthy pent-up retail and fleet demand that is offsetting higher interest rates, tighter credit standards and near-record vehicle prices.

Analysts have reportedly raised their outlook for U.S. vehicles sales in 2023 by over 15 million units because of a strong job market and easing inflation that has quelled the risk of a recession in recent weeks.

3rd Gear: Uber Is Actually Making Money

The money keeps rolling as Uber reportedly posted its first-ever operating profit in the second quarter of 2023. Results for the three months through June were driven by strong growth in both of those businesses, as the number of rides in the U.S. and Canada have apparently surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. And it doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down, either, with Uber saying it expects growth to continue through the third quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Uber on Tuesday posted a profit of $394 million during the second quarter, compared with a loss of $2.60 billion a year earlier. That came in better than the $18 million loss that analysts polled by FactSet had expected and was driven predominantly by its operating profit, which totaled $326 million.

Uber’s revenue rose 14% to $9.23 billion. Its gross bookings, or the total value of transactions on its app, grew 16% to $33.60 billion. Bookings are indicative of consumer demand, while revenue refers to Uber’s cut from it.

It wasn’t all good news, though. WSJ says that Uber’s freight division didn’t do as well. Bookings and revenue in that unit slid by 30 percent during the second quarter. The company also cut hundreds of jobs this year, mostly in HR, freight and overseas food-delivery options. It worked out to about 3 percent of Uber’s total staff.

4th Gear: Aston Martin Raised Some Cash

Aston Martin has been having a rough go of it for a while now. Late last year, the automaker said the global supply chain was to blame for a lagging financial improvement. It also has a relatively small fleet of vehicles that are quickly becoming a bit outdated. Not exactly a winning recipe to cut debt.

However, according to Reuters, the British automaker says it has raised £216 million ($277 million) in equity to cut down on its expensive debt. The company reportedly offered a 6.2 percent discount for its 58.2 million new shares, selling at about $4.56 U.S. per share.

Reverse: Video Killed the Radio Star