No huge press release,( I am sure there is one, but not as “in your Face” as one would expect) no huge sales blitz, that is because Toyota’s internal fear that Americans will lash back for Toyota overtaking The General as the #1 car manufacturer in the world.

Toyota Motor today became the first Japanese company ever to post a two-trillion-yen operating profit thanks to strong overseas sales that have put it in a global pole position. But officials at the automaker predicted steady profits in the current year as an expected strengthening of the yen and slower sales growth put the brakes on its stellar performance.
“The environment is tough but we want to regard it as an opportunity for further growth,” said Katsuaki Watanabe, group president.
Toyota is enjoying flourishing sales, particularly in the United States, as high gasoline prices increased demand for compact cars, small sport-utility vehicles and hybrids which use a mix of electricity and gas. The company’s net earnings rose 19.8 percent to 1.64 trillion yen ($US13.7 billion dollars) in the year to March, a fifth consecutive annual record and ahead of the firm’s own forecasts. Operating profit gained 19.2 percent to 2.24 trillion yen, while revenue increased 13.8 percent to 23.95 trillion yen, helped by a weaker yen.
In the fourth quarter alone, net earnings rose 8.9 percent to 440.1 billion yen.
Toyota overtook General Motors as the world’s top selling auto manufacturer in the first three months of 2007, and it is expected to remain the world number one through this year. The Japanese automaker sold 8.52 million vehicles in the last fiscal year, up 6.9 percent. It expects to sell 8.89 million cars and trucks in the year ending March 2008, a gain of 4.3 percent.

Japanese carmakers must deal with the shrinking domestic market, says Mitsuyuki Odaira, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre. “Young people are no longer buying cars,” he said. “How can automakers lure young people into buying their products? That’s the big question.” Odaira noted that Japanese automakers also would have to boost sales in fast-growing markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China and elsewhere to offset sluggish domestic demand.
Toyota officials forecast roughly stable earnings this year, with net profit seen rising 0.4 percent to 1.65 trillion yen as revenue grows 4.4 percent to 25.00 trillion yen. (Agence France-Presse)