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Toyota reports huge quarterly profit increase, raises forecast for the year

Toyota isn't just the world's largest automaker - so far its the biggest winner for quarterly profits. With an enormous $5.5 billion take during Q2, Toyota took advantage of the weak Japanese yen and strong US demand to record a 94-percent improvement in profit over the same period from last year. So far, Toyota brought in larger profits than Ford and General Motors combined.
Toyota is showing no signs of slowing down either, as it has bumped up its forecast for full-year global production, going from 9.94 million to 10.12 million vehicles, on the back of a 13-percent drop in the buying power of the Japanese yen versus the US dollar. That strong exchange rate is largely responsible for Toyota's big jump in profits, although it also managed to shift 1.3 million vehicles in the US market this year. Strong Camry sales have also helped. But while Toyota is raking in the cash, it actually saw a small drop in market share, down 0.1 percent to 14.3 percent of the US market.
As is the case with most automakers, Toyota seems flummoxed by Europe, where it recorded less than one percent of its revenue. Still, as Automotive News points out, Toyota only maintains a 4.5-percent market share in Europe and is far less dependent on the continent than other manufacturers. Toyota also struggled at home, much like Honda. With 525,777 units sold, JDM sales were down almost 51,000 units, although Toyota still saw its operating profit jump from $3.5 billion to $4.6 billion.

Toyota follows Tesla, makes hydrogen patents open source

Back in June, Tesla said All Our Patents Are Belong to You as it released its electric vehicle patents to the world. CEO Elon Musk said at the time that patents, "serve merely to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession." Despite some disagreement on which gasoline alternative (electricity or hydrogen) will power the automotive future, it looks like the folks over at Toyota like the idea of making advanced technology easier for others to get their hands on. Last summer, Tesla said that it would, "not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology." In an announcement today at CES, Toyota said it would let "automakers who will produce and sell fuel cell vehicles, as well as ... fuel cell parts suppliers and energy companies who establish and operate fueling stations" get free access to 5,680 fuel cell related patents around the world. That means if you're interested in building your own Mirai H2 car, you can now get some of the instructions. There's a catch, though, in that Toyota's H2 vehicle patents will only be free, "through the initial market introduction period, anticipated to last until 2020." Patents about making and selling hydrogen will be free "for an unlimited duration." Toyota's Senior VP of Automotive Operations, Bob Carter, said that, "At Toyota, we believe that when good ideas are shared, great things can happen. ... By eliminating traditional corporate boundaries, we can speed the development of new technologies and move into the future of mobility more quickly, effectively and economically." Toyota generates a lot of patents each year – 1,491 in 2012 in the US alone, for example – but it did not see fit to make them all open to competitors. While we don't know for sure how many automakers have decided to use Tesla's patents since they were made public, but it appears that interest in the technology is muted. We'll have to wait and see how the industry reacts to the influx of H2 information. We hope this will be one of the topics Musk addresses in his Reddit AMA later today. Toyota Opens the Door and Invites the Industry to the Hydrogen Future More than 5,600 fuel cell and related patents available for royalty free use Patents include industry leading fuel cell technology used in new Toyota Mirai January 05, 2015 2015 CES - TMS SVP Bob Carter's speech LAS VEGAS, (Jan.

Toyota restructuring US operations, possibly moving to Texas

According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Toyota is poised to announce Monday that it is restructuring its US operations, which may include plans to relocate some of its operations to Texas. Toyota Motor Sales has been located in California since 1957, and is responsible for North American sales, marketing, and distribution for Toyota, Lexus and Scion. According to Toyota literature, its Torrance operations presently employs 6,156 workers and represents a $2.3-billion investment.
Workers in Toyota's Torrance offices were abuzz about the possible relocation to Texas. One young offspring of a Toyota employee even posted to Twitter that her parents warned about the upcoming move, and she said she's refusing to go.
Rumors at one point had Toyota settling in Richardson, TX, just outside Plano. But Autoblog talked to Richardson Mayor Laura Maczka, who said she would be thrilled if that were true, but has not heard anything on the subject. Autoblog also emailed with Bill Sutherland, a city councilman in Torrance, CA, who said, "To date the only info I have is what I have read in the paper expecting a press release Monday."