The transcripts of the top three Japanese companies are even more rare in an environment where the global automotive industry has been greatly impacted on both production and sales ends.
In the domestic auto market, Japanese cars are definitely a force that cannot be ignored. And the Japanese cars we talk about are generally referred to as “two fields and one production”, namely Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. Especially the vast domestic car consumer groups, I am afraid that many car owners or prospective car owners will inevitably deal with these three car companies. As the Japanese top three have recently announced their transcripts for the 2021 fiscal year (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022), we also reviewed the performance of the top three last year.
Nissan: Transcripts and electrification are catching up with “two fields”
Whether it is 8.42 trillion yen (about 440.57 billion yuan) in revenue or 215.5 billion yen (about 11.28 billion yuan) in net profit, Nissan is among the top three. The existence of “bottom”. However, fiscal 2021 is still a year of strong comeback for Nissan. Because after the “Ghosn incident”, Nissan has suffered losses for three consecutive fiscal years before the 2021 fiscal year. After the year-on-year increase in net profit reached 664%, it also achieved a turnaround last year.
Combined with Nissan’s four-year “Nissan NEXT corporate transformation plan” that began in May 2020, it is exactly halfway through this year. According to official data, this Nissan version of the “cost reduction and efficiency increase” plan has helped Nissan to streamline 20% of global production capacity, optimize 15% of global product lines, and reduce 350 billion yen (about 18.31 billion yuan). ), which was about 17% higher than the original target.
As for sales, Nissan’s global record of 3.876 million vehicles fell by about 4% year-on-year. Taking into account factors such as the supply chain environment of the global chip shortage last year, this decline is still reasonable. However, it is worth noting that in the Chinese market, which accounts for nearly one-third of its total sales, Nissan’s sales fell by about 5% year-on-year, and its market share also fell from 6.2% to 5.6%. In fiscal 2022, Nissan expects to seek new growth points in the U.S. and European markets while stabilizing the development momentum of the Chinese market.
Electrification is obviously the focus of Nissan’s next development. With classics such as the Leaf, Nissan’s current achievements in the electrification field are obviously unsatisfactory. According to the “Vision 2030″, Nissan plans to launch 23 electrified models (including 15 pure electric models) by fiscal year 2030. In the Chinese market, Nissan hopes to achieve the goal of electric drive models accounting for more than 40% of total sales in fiscal 2026. With the arrival of e-POWER technology models, Nissan has filled the first-mover advantage over Toyota and Honda in the technical path. After the current supply chain influence is released, will Nissan’s production capacity catch up with the “two fields” on the new track?
Honda: In addition to fuel vehicles, electrification can also rely on motorcycle blood transfusion
The second place on the transcript is Honda, with a revenue of 14.55 trillion yen (about 761.1 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 10.5%, and a year-on-year increase of 7.5% in net profit to 707 billion Japanese yen (about 37 billion yuan). In terms of revenue, Honda’s performance last year could not even keep up with the sharp decline in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. But the net profit is rising steadily. Under the environment of cost reduction and efficiency improvement of mainstream car companies in the world, the decline in revenue and the increase in profits seem to have become the main theme, but Honda still has its own particularity.
Excluding the weak yen that Honda pointed out in its earnings report to help the export-oriented company’s profitability, the company’s revenue in the last fiscal year was mainly due to the growth of motorcycle business and financial services business. According to relevant data, Honda’s motorcycle business revenue increased by 22.3% year-on-year in the last fiscal year. In contrast, the automotive business’s revenue growth was only 6.6%. Whether it is operating profit or net profit, Honda’s car business is significantly lower than the motorcycle business.
In fact, judging from the sales in the natural year of 2021, Honda’s sales performance in the two major markets of China and the United States is still remarkable. However, after entering the first quarter, due to the impact of supply chain and geographical conflicts, Honda experienced a sharp decline in the above two fundamentals. However, from the perspective of macro trends, the slowdown of Honda’s auto business has a lot to do with the increase in R&D costs in its electrification sector.
According to Honda’s latest electrification strategy, in the next ten years, Honda plans to invest 8 trillion yen in research and development expenses (about 418.48 billion yuan). If calculated by the net profit of fiscal year 2021, this is almost equivalent to the net profit of more than 11 years being invested in the transformation. Among them, for the rapidly developing Chinese market of new energy vehicles, Honda plans to launch 10 pure electric models within 5 years. The first model of its new brand e:N series has also been realized or prepared to be sold in Dongfeng Honda and GAC Honda respectively. If other traditional car companies rely on fuel vehicle blood transfusion for electrification, then Honda will need more blood supply from the motorcycle business.
Toyota: Net profit = three times that of Honda + Nissan
The final boss is undoubtedly Toyota. In fiscal 2021, Toyota won 31.38 trillion yen (about 1,641.47 billion yuan) in revenue, and grabbed 2.85 trillion yen (about 2.85 trillion yen). 149 billion yuan), up 15.3% and 26.9% year-on-year respectively. Not to mention that the revenue exceeds the sum of Honda and Nissan, and its net profit is three times that of the above two fellows. Even compared with the old rival Volkswagen, after its net profit in fiscal 2021 increased by 75% year-on-year, it was only 15.4 billion euros (about 108.8 billion yuan).
It can be said that Toyota’s report card for fiscal year 2021 is of epoch-making significance. First of all, its operating profit even exceeded the high value of fiscal year 2015, setting a record high in six years. Secondly, in the sound of declining sales, Toyota’s global sales in the fiscal year still exceeded the 10 million mark, reaching 10.38 million units, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. Although Toyota has repeatedly reduced or stopped production in fiscal year 2021, in addition to the decline in production and sales in its home market of Japan, Toyota has performed strongly in global markets including China and the United States.
But for Toyota’s profit growth, its sales performance is only one part. Since the economic crisis in 2008, Toyota has gradually adopted the regional CEO system and an operating strategy closer to the local market, and has built the “cost reduction and efficiency increase” idea that many car companies are implementing today. In addition, the development and implementation of the TNGA architecture has laid a foundation for a comprehensive upgrade of its product capabilities and outstanding performance in profit margins.
However, if the depreciation of the yen in 2021 can still absorb the impact of a certain price increase of raw materials, then after entering the first quarter of 2022, the skyrocketing rise in raw materials, as well as the continuous impact of earthquakes and geopolitical conflicts on the production side, make the Japanese three Strong, especially the largest Toyota is struggling. At the same time, Toyota also plans to invest 8 trillion yen in research and development including hybrid, fuel cell and pure electric models. And transform Lexus into a pure electric brand in 2035.
write at the end
It can be said that the top three Japanese universities have all handed in eye-catching transcripts in the latest annual exam. This is even more rare in an environment where the global auto industry has been greatly impacted on both production and sales ends. However, under the influence of factors such as ongoing geopolitical conflicts and lingering supply chain pressures. For the top three Japanese companies that rely more on the global market, they may have to bear more pressure than European, American and Chinese car companies. In addition, on the new energy track, the top three are more of the chasers. High R&D investment, as well as subsequent product promotion and competition, also make Toyota, Honda, and Nissan still face constant challenges in the long run.
Author: Ruan Song
Post time: May-17-2022