Hybrids Drive Toyota’s Profits In Europe

Given the disappointing and rather dismal news coming from Europe’s auto sector, it’s refreshing to hear that at least one company will be turning a profit on the continent.

That company would be Toyota (NYSE:TM), which is projecting its first profitable year in Europe since 2007. Its fiscal year ends this month, and the company is hoping that the same trends will keep it above water for fiscal 2013.

Last year, European figures pegged Toyota sales as falling 3 percent for 2012. But that is still better than the 8.2 percent decline that the entire auto industry faced in Europe, where the economic slump has caused auto sales to shrink, Fox Business said.

“In 2013, we want to sell more than in 2012, even if we don’t know yet what the volume will be,” said Didier Leroy, the head of Toyota’s European operations. “Based on the market share, we can, we will make a profit.” Hybrid sales will account for 17 percent of sales in 2013, up from 13 percent last year, Investors.com noted.

Since 2010, Fox reports that Leroy has been restructuring Toyota’s European operations, while its other operations — domestically in Japan, and in the United States — faced mounting difficulties. The company had to contend with a typhoon in Japan that halted production, as well as accelerator issues in the United States that forced the company to issue recalls, and resulted in a hell of a public relations headache for the company.

Meanwhile, investors seem to be playing it safe and waiting for the official numbers.

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