TOKYO, Nov. 4, 2009 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: UPDATING WITH PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS)
Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will withdraw from Formula One at the end of the current season to cut costs, erasing the presence of Japanese teams on the F1 race circuit and joining other Japanese automakers leaving major motor racing events due to the tough business environment.
The move to pull out of F1 after this year comes as Japan's top automaker concluded that it would be difficult to continue bearing the costs of joining the racing event, as it anticipates remaining in the red for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2009 through next March.
''In light of the current business environment and mid- and long-term perspective, we had no choice but to make this tough decision,'' Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a news conference in Tokyo.
Toyoda, who is himself an avid motor sports fan, stressed that the company did its utmost in cost-cutting measures to enable its continued participation in F1, but ultimately had to back out due to the economic downturn.
For fiscal 2008, Toyota reported a consolidated operating loss of 461.01 billion yen, the first operating loss since fiscal 1937. It aims to cut 900 billion yen in costs as it anticipates an operating loss of 750 billion yen -- its worst-ever on record -- for the current business year.
With that in mind, the president said the automaker must redirect its resources to making cars.
In withdrawing from F1, Toyota will focus its resources on developing fuel-efficient cars and low-cost cars targeting emerging economies, which is a potential source of growth for the company. Toyota has been enjoying robust sales of its Prius hybrid.
Toyota is looking for a possible buyer of its F1 team in Europe, the sources said.
The Aichi Prefecture-based automaker joined F1 in 2002 to enhance its technological capacity and boost its image in Europe, and said it would remain until 2012. Toyota ranked fifth out of 10 teams in the F1 constructor standing for the 2009 season.
Toyota's move comes after Japan's second-largest automaker, Honda Motor Co., exited F1 at the end of the 2008 season.
In July, Toyota's subsidiary Fuji International Speedway Co. said it will stop hosting Formula One Japanese Grand Prix races at its circuit in Shizuoka Prefecture from 2010, citing sour business conditions.
On Monday, Bridgestone Corp., the solo tire supplier to F1, said it will stop supplying the top auto racing series at the close of the 2010 season in the fall, citing the need to save costs and redistribute resources to environmental areas.
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of the Subaru brand, also withdrew from the FIA World Rally Championship last year, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced in February its withdrawal from the Dakar Rally.
