TOKYO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) — Japan’s prime automakers are reeling underneath the burden of U.S. tariffs, with monetary outcomes for the primary half of fiscal 2025 revealing a collective revenue decline and rising structural stress throughout the trade.
According to the Nikkei, Japan’s seven main producers — Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, and Suzuki — suffered an estimated mixed lack of 1.5 trillion yen (about 9.7 billion U.S. {dollars}) for the April-September interval as a result of U.S. tariffs, which took impact in April.
The affect has been extreme. Nissan, Mazda, and Mitsubishi Motors all posted internet losses for the interval, whereas Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, noticed working revenue plunge 18.6 % regardless of larger income, marking its first working loss in North America because the 2008 world monetary disaster.
Honda’s internet revenue fell 37 % year-on-year, and Subaru’s dropped 45 %, underscoring how deeply the tariff shock has reduce into margins throughout the board.
Many corporations selected to not increase costs within the United States to guard market share, a transfer that shielded short-term gross sales however eroded profitability as manufacturing and logistics prices surged.
Toyota Chief Financial Officer Kenta Kon lately acknowledged that though the United States has since lowered the tariff on Japanese autos to fifteen %, the scenario stays extraordinarily difficult.
Analysts warn that Japan’s automakers face a double burden — paying larger tariffs whereas additionally being inspired to increase U.S. funding underneath bilateral commerce commitments.
Such obligations, they are saying, danger draining sources away from home R&D and weakening the broader industrial base.
The penalties prolong far past company stability sheets. In 2024, Japan’s car exports to the United States made up 28.3 % of Japan’s whole exports to the nation.
According to information from the Ministry of Finance, exports to the United States between April and September declined 10.2 % from a yr earlier to 9.7115 trillion yen.
Automobile exports tumbled 22.7 % to 2.3890 trillion yen throughout the interval, with export volumes reducing 2.4 % to 662,914 autos.
As earnings contract and capital spending slows, the ripple impact might drag on Japan’s already fragile financial restoration, analysts warn.