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US carmakers seek help, Toyota hacks outlook

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-07 15:31

DETROIT -- US auto executives were set to meet with a top US lawmaker Thursday to lobby for urgent aid to survive a deepening global downturn that industry leader Toyota Motor Corp warned would drive its operating profit to a 13-year low.

An unsold new Toyota Sequoia SUV is seen at a dealership in Silver Spring, Maryland, July 1, 2008. US auto sales plunged dramatically in October as the credit crunch and weak consumer confidence took a toll on consumers and carmakers. [Agencies]

Auto analysts also said that General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co would post deep third-quarter losses on Friday amid sinking demand in North America and other regions and would be forced to detail more job and production cuts.

GM has told its employees it would be announcing "important changes" to its operations in a briefing for staff on Friday as both automakers take steps to protect liquidity amid the deepest downturn in US auto industry sales in a quarter century.

After a week of profit warnings from six of the seven other Japanese car makers, industry watchers had braced for similar pain at Toyota, until recently the envy of the sector with eight straight years of profit growth.

The Ford Motor Company logo. US auto sales plunged dramatically in October as the credit crunch and weak consumer confidence took a toll on consumers and carmakers. [Agencies]

The 63 percent cut in estimated operating profit, to 600 billion yen ($6.1 billion), was far beyond the most pessimistic prediction, and sent Toyota shares traded in the United States down 17.5 percent.

It would be Toyota's lowest profit since 1995/96, and down 74 percent from a record 2.2 trillion yen last year.

"I was very much stunned," Koji Endo, an analyst at Credit Suisse. "First-half profit was already more than 580 billion yen, so that means the company is looking at virtually no profit in the second half."

The maker of the Camry sedan, Prius gas-electric hybrid and Tundra pickup has cut production, let go temporary staff and offered buyers unprecedented incentives as sales in key markets slide due to the spreading global crisis.

The impact of a global credit crisis has spread to emerging markets such as China and India, throwing a wrench in automakers' plans to seek strong growth there to offset slumping sales in the big US and European markets.

US Auto Lobbying Steps Up

Leaders of GM, Ford, Chrysler and the United Auto Workers union were set to meet with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday afternoon in the wake of Democrat Barack Obama's election as the first black president in US history.

The White House said on Thursday automakers now may apply for government loans from the Energy Department under the $25 billion low-interest loan program intended to help them retool older plants and equipment to build energy-efficient vehicles.

The Energy Department on Wednesday night published rules for participation in the loan program.

The stakes are high for the US automakers.

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