"Manufacturers have a lot to learn from Toyota"
- Edwin Merner, Tokyo-based president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp.
Japanese largest manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corp., is going to recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide in order to fix shaft and water-pump defects. While the defect had caused no accidents and could each be fixed in an hour, it can cost several millions to fix the issue. It is already second multi-million car recall in two months. However, despite a dramatic decline in sales in China, and a series of car recalls, the company has raised its net profit projection by 2.6% to Y780 billion ($9.7bn), up from Y760 billion.
"Manufacturers have a lot to learn from Toyota," said Edwin Merner, Tokyo-based president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp., which manages about $300 million in assets. Others can learn to "stay the course even in bad times, not blame other people or the government when things go wrong," he added.
"It's uncertain when sales will recover in China. It's unlikely to happen anytime soon ... I think the market hopes for a recovery in January-March, but I don't really see what's going to drive that," said Kei Nihonyanagi, autos analyst at Barclays Securities in Tokyo.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1.72 per cent, or 149.06 points, to 8,813.79. The broader Topix Index jumped 2.02 per cent, or 14.61 points, to 737.02.
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