When the BoJ raised rates in March, it had been 17 years since it had last done so, though the world was very different then. While the July rate hike was unlikely to move the economic needle, the question now is what else might follow the subsequent financial market maelstrom. Pelham Smithers discusses the outlook for Japan’s macro environment, what new fiscal policies the new PM might introduce, how the BoJ might react and the all-important trend in corporate earnings. This then leads us to...
Suzuki delivered some strong FY24 Q1 results but is cautioning about deteriorating earnings for the rest of the year. While FY24 sales growth should remain in positive territory and pricing is still firm, analyst Julie Boote warns that the risk of Suzuki’s key Indian operations performing worse than expected is rising.
ASEAN has long been considered one of the global auto markets with the best growth prospects, but expectations have not been met. With China in trouble and ASEAN auto sales lacklustre, Japanese automakers need to review their positioning in Asia. Analyst Julie Boote provides a short-term outlook for the ASEAN auto market, and discusses Japanese assemblers’ options within this context.
Toyota Motor impressed markets with excellent results in the last three quarters, heading towards record sales and profits in FY23. The share price rally so far this year is evidence of investors’ recognition of the company’s successful hybrid strategy. Therefore, Toyota is not only benefiting from strong earnings growth, but from a complete reassessment of how the automaker will fare in a new mobility world.
In our 2010 Japan Perspective, written close to the nadir of the bear market, we discussed what was wrong with Japan, but also what it was starting to do right. Fourteen years on, the Nikkei 225 - though not yet Topix - has hit a new all-time high. This report looks at how Japan built on those things that were going right, while also starting to address what else needed to be done, and looks at whether more is needed to be done if the market rally is to continue from here.
Once again topping expectations, Toyota produced excellent FY23 Q3 results, thanks to the triple benefits of strong volume growth, firm pricing and currency gains. Despite Daihatsu related losses to be booked in Q4, Toyota is now heading for an all-time record year for both sales and profits. However, analyst Julie Boote cautions that deteriorating market conditions could be reflected in more subdued guidance numbers for FY24.
While Japan’s automakers have upped their game in the EV space, they remain laggards on the global stage. With the EV markets now in trouble, analyst Julie Boote assesses whether or not the Japanese assemblers have been vindicated in their more cautious approach to electrification.
Tesla’s plans to halve EV manufacturing costs rely heavily on the increased use of gigacasting. Using massive aluminium die-casting machines to achieve this, however, is not only a major technological challenge, it requires substantial initial investments. Nevertheless, global automakers and suppliers are now exploring the possibilities of gigacasting, as the race for EV cost competitiveness is on. In this report, analyst Julie Boote outlines the benefits and challenges of gigacasting, examines ...
Toyota is on a roll, posting record sales and profits, with market expectations high for an earnings upgrade in FY23 Q2. While the sales and profit outlook is indeed bright, analyst Julie Boote asks whether the enthusiasm over Toyota can last.
As electric vehicles are set to replace combustion engine cars over time, established automakers need to prove they can remain competitive in this new market. In this context, much attention has been given to battery technology, but the creation of an optimal EV auto platform is just as important. Here, the jury is still out, as we are in the early development days. Analyst Julie Boote discusses how the prefect EV platform should look like and where automakers are currently positioned.
This has been an impressive earning season for Japanese automakers, with FY23 Q1 net sales and OP of the seven listed companies all surging by double-digit rates. Analyst Julie Boote takes us through the factors behind the performance and highlights the positives and negatives to consider going forward.
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