🚖Toyota cuts production costs to allow record research budget.
Asia’s biggest automaker saved 100 billion yen ($875 million) in the half year ended September through measures including the continued roll out of a new manufacturing process. That’s more than $3,300 every minute in those six months.
The money saved will help bolster spending on research and development to a record $1.06 trillion yen ($9.3 billion) this year as President Akio Toyoda pushes the company deeper into new electrified powertrains and artificial intelligence, areas he says the automaker needs to lead.
Aggressive cost cutting, a weaker yen and continued dominance of the Japanese market led Toyota to raise its full-year profit Tuesday and announce a share buyback.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2017/11/07/toyota-cuts-production-costs-record-research-budget/107431598/
TMC Announces April-September 2017 Financial Results | Toyota USA Newsroom
http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/tmc+announces+april+september+2017+financial+results.htm