1997 Toyota 4 Runner Green - Tow Package - Roof Rack - Sun Roof on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mazda's new Mexican plant capacity rises to 230,000

After the turmoil of last year, 2013 is getting off to a much better start for Mazda. The company has issued a release indicating that the forthcoming plant in Salamanca, Mexico has had its production capacity raised even though it isn't scheduled to go online until March 2014. The original plans called for a 140,000-unit capacity, 90,000 of that allotted for the Mazda2 and Mazda3, the remaining 50,000 for a small car Mazda would build for Toyota that would be based on the Mazda2. The new plans call for raising that by 90,000 units to a total of 230,000 units within two years, by the end of March 2016, and it looks like it will all go toward Mazda production to satisfy growing demand for Skyactiv vehciles. The Mexican plant's opening will be the return of Mazda manufacturing to North America, after Mazda6 production was moved back to Japan last year.
More good news for the company is that it projects 10 billion yen ($114 million) in net income for the financial year that will end in March. That would be a welcome turnaround from the 100-billion-yen loss in the previous financial year, part of a series of three annual losses in a four-year span.
You'll find the press release with the factory update below.

Legal approach in $1.2 billion Toyota settlement could impact handling of GM recall cases

In the past, if an automaker did something wrong, they were usually prosecuted by the US government through something called the TREAD Act. Short for Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, it basically requires automakers to report recalls in other countries, along with any and all serious injuries or deaths, to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Failing to report or attempting to conceal anything when there's been a death or serious injury constitutes a criminal liability. The idea is that this setup puts the onus on manufacturers to keep NHTSA apprised of safety related issues before they become a problem in the US, thereby allowing the regulator to better protect consumers.
In theory, it sounds like a relatively airtight set of rules for dealing with misbehaving automakers. That didn't stop the US Department of Justice from ignoring TREAD in its prosecution of Toyota's handling of the unintended acceleration recall, though. The result of this new approach, which charged Toyota with wire fraud, was a $1.2 billion settlement. Now, the wire-fraud approach could be used for the expected case between the US government and General Motors, based on the statements of Attorney General Eric Holder, who specifically mentioned "similarly situated companies" when discussing Toyota.

Toyota outpaces Detroit rivals in profitability per vehicle

As the world's highest volume automaker in 2014, you would probably expect Toyota to project a healthy financial outlook for the end of its fiscal year on March 31. But thanks in large part to the weak value of the yen and a large number of export vehicles, the automaker could make about four times more than General Motors, despite selling just a few hundred thousand more cars than its Detroit competitor last year. Toyota forecasts the equivalent of $24.5 billion in earnings for the fiscal year, compared to $6.5 billion from GM in 2014. According to an analysis by The Detroit News, the Japanese automaker is expecting average earnings of $2,726 on each vehicle it sells, versus $994 from Ford and $654 from GM. The key to this massive success has less to do with Toyota's products and much more in the company's location. The yen's value to the dollar is at its lowest point in decades. Also, according to The News, the automaker exports about 45 percent of its Japan-assembled vehicles, meaning bigger profits in the conversion to foreign currencies. Coupled with strong demand in the US, and the business looks even better. Automakers in the US are peeved by Toyota's currency-based boost. According to The News, there are allegations of manipulation of the yen's value, and Ford president of the Americas Joe Hinrichs calls the problem the "major trade barrier of the 21st century." He thinks the Japanese companies are making about $2,000 per exported vehicle due to the conversion. Intriguingly, it wasn't that long ago when Japanese automakers were moving operations from the country due to the strong value of the yen to the dollar curtailing profits. Infiniti shifted production, and there were fears that Toyota might close some of its factories, as well. Related Video: News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Shizuo Kambayashim / AP Photo Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Toyota toyota earnings toyota profit