McLaren to buy back Mercedes holding

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG will have stakes in two Formula 1 teams next season, with a majority shareholding in Brawn GP coming into effect while its 40% stake in McLaren Racing is set to be bought out by the McLaren Group over the coming year...  

Toyota surprises with profit, boosts forecast

Toyota Motor Corp reported a surprise profit Thursday and cut its projected red ink for the year by half, adding to growing evidence that carmakers are starting to recover from the deepest industry downturn in years.

Hulkenberg all set for F1

Reigning GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg will be furthering his Formula One career next season when he moves up from his reserve driver status at Williams to become a Grand Prix racer...  

Toyota in profit after cost cuts and scrappage

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, has unexpectedly clawed its way back to profit after a summer of scrappage incentive schemes in the US and Europe and a round of ferocious cost cutting. But the company was swift to quash any premature optimism over the state of the American car market, where it said conditions were still “very severe” and the company is battling to limit the damage of a 3 million-vehicle recall.

Toyota return to profits fuels hopes

Toyota trimmed its projected losses for the year to March 2010 to ¥200bn, from an earlier prediction of ¥450bnHopes that the global car industry is easing out of its slump gathered pace today after Toyota said it had returned to profit in the last quarter and cut its forecast losses for the full year.The world's biggest carmaker surprised industry observers by posting an unexpected ¥21.8bn (£146m) net profit for the three months to September, drastically down on the ¥139bn profit of last year but a sign of recovery nonetheless.It also trimmed its projected losses for the year to March 2010 to ¥200bn, from an earlier prediction of ¥450bn.That would be a significant improvement on the ¥437bn annual loss it reported in March, the worst performance in the company's 72-year-history.It expects to sell 7.03m vehicles this year, up from its earlier forecast of 6.6m.Toyota, whose president, Akio Toyoda, last month said it was just one step from "irrelevance or death", said cost-cutting measures and rising sales in Japan and China had helped offset to the damage to profits inflicted by the rising yen.Worries persist, however, that Toyota and other carmakers could see sales shrink again when government schemes in Japan, the US, China and Europe to encourage consumers to trade in old models for new, fuel-efficient cars come to an end.Toyota was expected to be the only Japanese carmaker to report a quarterly loss as it struggles under the weight of its huge global operation, built when it was registering record profits and chasing General Motors to become the world's biggest carmaker.Instead, its second quarter profits were markedly up on the ¥194bn loss it suffered in the April-to-June period.While demand in the US remains sluggish, Toyota has benefited at home from a revival in demand for its Prius petrol-electric hybrid, Japan's best-selling passenger car for the past five months.Currency woesYukitoshi Funo, Toyota's executive vice president, admitted that conditions in the US, traditionally its biggest market, were a major concern and that the firm would have to further reduce fixed costs to offset the yen's strength against the dollar."The overall business in the United States for us is still very severe," he told reporters.Toyota's results marked the end of an earnings season that could have been worse for Japan's battered carmakers, which have been forced to shed jobs and slash production as they feel the pinch from the global economic crisis.Yesterday Nissan said it was expecting an annual profit amid booming sales in China, while last week Honda also reported better than expected earnings.Analysts warned, however, that Toyota's cost-cutting regime would have to stay in place while the industry continues to recover."Next year will basically see a focus on cost cutting," said Koichi Ogawa at Daiwa SB Investments in Tokyo. "They really have to go back into the black next year. And considering the industry as a whole, it's hard to see next year's conditions being so remarkably good. There will have to be cost cuts and then expanding markets in the emerging economies."Toyota looks a little less attractive than other companies such as Honda and Nissan."The results were announced a day after Toyota said it was withdrawing from Formula One in an attempt to save about ¥50bn a year, leaving the sport without a single Japanese manufacturer.General Motors' decision to not sell its European operations has been seen as a sign that the car market is recovering. And earlier this week Ford posted a US profit for the first time in four years.ToyotaAutomotive industryJapanJustin McCurryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

McLaren confirm signing of Button

• World champion agrees £5.5m-a-year deal• Leaving Brawn 'a difficult decision', says EnglishmanJenson Button has finally signed a long-term contract to drive for the McLaren team alongside Lewis Hamilton in what will be only the second all-British world champion line-up in Formula One history.Button's move was revealed by the Guardian last week, and the 2009 title holder finally agreed terms after a lengthy meeting last night at the McLaren squad's Woking headquarters.The £5.5m-a-year deal sees the 29-year-old Englishman turning his back on the Brawn team only two days after they were purchased by Mercedes-Benz."It's always a difficult decision to leave a team when you've been there for so long," said Button. "But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it's about challenging yourself."So, although I won the world championship with Brawn GP last year, and I'll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges."Hamilton welcomed Button's arrival. "It's fantastic news that Jenson has decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and I'm looking forward to working with him and our engineers to make sure we kick off the 2010 season with a car that's competitive enough to win the world championship."Hamilton, McLaren's 2008 world champion, added: "I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together. We both really want our team to succeed."Although we'll be pushing each other hard, I'm sure we'll very quickly establish a great working relationship."He's an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience. I think we'll complement each other very well."The McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said Button's move from Brawn "was in no way motivated by money"."We'll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson's belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season," Whitmarsh said."Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team."It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers – and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula One."Moreover, I'm confident that we'll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson's and Lewis's complementary skill-sets. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery."Hamilton praised Heikki Kovalainen, his team-mate of the last two seasons who must now find a drive elsewhere. The Englishman said: "I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend Heikki Kovalainen, who is one of the nicest human beings I've ever met."Whitmarsh praised Kovalainen for his role at the team over the past two seasons. "I want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years," said Whitmarsh. "As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we'll all miss considerably."It goes without saying that we wish him all the best for next season, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010."Jenson ButtonLewis HamiltonMcLarenFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds