On The Edge? Report Indicates Toyota May Be Running Short On Cash

What large, multinational corporation does not have lower cash reserves and more debt right now?

Google has more cash than the world has keyboards, but that's beside the point. TOYOTA ISN'T RUNNING OUT OF CASH. They haven't even BEGUN to tap into lines of credit, leveraging assets, etc. It's like saying Tom Brady is running low on funds...ridiculous.

for a capital intensive business like automobile manufacturing, having cash equal to ford is hardly a point of strength...

"It's not the end of the world, it's just an agent009 thread."

LOL

Apple as well, cash flow for them is not totally dependent on moving hardware.

Thats what you get when you offer 0% finance on all/most of your models...Talking with fellow sales people, we seemed to agree, how can a company make money on lending so-called "free" money, you don't because there is nothing for free when it comes car loans...someone somewhere is paying down to 0%...and Toyota is paying the price. And if you looked at the Decemeber numbers...it didn't even help.

Toyota needs faster turnovers... ie., new car purchases, but since their products last forever and never breakdown, people are just riding out the bad economy and delaying purchasing. This kind of business strategy works for BMW though, as people "need" to trade it in before the warranty runs out :)

this probably true to a degree.

Nothing lasts forever, Nothing never breaks down.

As the saying goes "The bigger you are, that harder the fall"...Look what happend to the Big 3...but their situation is not only the economy but more so the Management/Execs ignorance that also played a huge roll for the Big 3. Toyota maybe be strapped on cash for now, but what has been spent interms of loans or investments into the right R&D will quickly pay back, once the economy gets rollin' again by the end of 09'(hopefully!)...In Toyota's case, they can afford to give the free financing when need be, but it does not mean this will solve all it's problems. It avoids their current inventory to be stagnant and barely breaking even. In terms of bouncing back in this tough time of the automotive sector, Ford and Toyota will become the lone survivors for the long term...considering Toyota was once known(or still is) the bank of autos...if Toyota does bad then for sure every other automotive company is doing that much worse! Proof is in the pudding! Good luck to all!

you should follow their lead!

Unlike the article (from Detroit, BTW) I'll post some numbers putting things in perspective and you guys and gals will explain me how can anyone say Toyota is "on the edge", OK? Let's go, in millions of USD ||| 2008 Ford Motor Company total assets: 279,264 total liabilities: 273,636 net income: -2,723 ||| 2007 General Motors total assets: 148,883, total liabilities: 185,977(!!!), net income: -38,732(!!!) ||| 2007 Volkswagen AG, in millions of EUR, total assets 48,432 total liabilities 15,595 OPERATING income 1,940 ||| 2008 Toyota Motor Corporation, in millions of USD, total assets 323,970 total liabilities more or less 200,000 net income 17,150

0% from bmw for more than a year? um, no.

Hey ChumpG37, here's an interesting saying I found and it made me think of you immediately after I read it.. "If Only Closed Minds Came With Closed Mouths" and my personal favorite "I Wish Stupid Were Painful".

A big increase is in reality always followed by a big decrease - the higher you rise, the higher you will fall. Evolutions principle since the beginning of our planet. As for Toyota: They struggle like everybody else, and their ovverrated Lexus brand will fall even more (unfortunately we will not see the numbers in terms of profit and / or loss, because they are hidden under the wings of Toyota). But you can be sure about one thing: 1. in case of Audi, Mercedes, BMW, they will probably each have unneeded production capacity of round about 200.000 cars each (20% of 1 million cars produced) 2. in case of Toyota, with unnecessary production capacity for approximately 1.700.000 cars (diff. between 8.2 million and 6.5 million cars, 20% would be 1.600.000), that is a total different story My 2 cents are that the small companies will be stronger after this - as they can respond easier - and the big ones will suffer more.

These are just rumors, The entire world knows that the world's richest automaker is not running short on cash flow, even if so, then so is everybody else....

Just because Toyota is #1 right now doesn't mean that if they are running short on cash that everyone else is too, the amount of money a company makes is tied to more than just the number of cars they sell, it is also determined by things like profit margins, debt, management decisions, and other things. In short, the entire auto market does not move to the beat of one Toyota.

When it comes to having a small cock, women are more likely to bang you when you look like a poser? At least that's what I got from your post. Cheers!

Allot of Bashing as usual. Toyota is a fine company that created a great business model used the World over. Also the Japanese automakers forced other competitors to increase quality and reliability for the consumers in order to compete.

I blame the current state of the BIG 3 on its Management and also the greed of the US financial Institution that helped create this mess. ALL major Automakers rely heavily on the US Auto Market and hopefully we can all feel safe to spend again :)

Spend what? Obama will spend it for us

Ford BORROWED $23B in 2006
That's the ONLY reason they don't have their hands out now
They beat everyone to the punch!

So comparing Ford's loan proceeds (In the Red) to Toyota's safety net, is like comparing the New York Subways to The Bullet Train
Glad to see they tell you the whole story here
Well done!
DrFill

Some dudes just made it up i bet!

Actually, Apple has been seeing a huge drop in profits as their products are quite expensive compared to the alternatives... But it's true... It isn't like they are headed towards the abyss in any way!

Apple just had their biggest quarter in their history and added to their cash, thats with spreading out their iPhone profit out over 24 months, or it would have been bigger. Don't know where you get your information. They also have the biggest margins in the industry, they are in a good position.
http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/21/apple-reports-1-14-billion-profit-for-q4-2008/

I think in a year, all the auto manufacturers will be in trouble.

As someone pointed out over at TTAC, Toyota's sales have doubled in the past decade. So as a percentage of sales, their debt load has not increased. As someone here points out, they haven't begun to tap lines of credit and such. They could also issue stock tomorrow, and get a good price for it.

So I'm not concerned about the financial health of Toyota. Let me know when they start dumping brands and selling core assets.

Guys, take your heads out of the computer. The problem for Detroit, Billancourt, Stuttgart, Hiroshima, and all is CREDIT.

The sky, by the way, IS FALLING!