As expected in today’s market, Japanese automakers have released their third fiscal quarter results for the October to December period. After years marked by the pandemic and the global chip shortage, Japan’s carmakers appear to have navigated the disruption, showing solid profitability and renewed financial momentum.
The standout example is Toyota, which reports a 22% rise in operating profit for the third quarter year over year, reaching 6.835 billion euros. The company confirms ongoing efforts to stabilize the supply chain in the quarters ahead, despite persistent semiconductor constraints that many peers also face. For the full year, management projects profits of 17.152 billion euros, a figure that already looks within reach given nine months’ results total 15.1 billion euros.
All major brands benefited from a softer yen in recent months, though gains were tempered by higher import costs for key components.
important climbs
While Toyota leads on absolute numbers, every major Japanese brand closed the third quarter with stronger performance. Nissan highlighted a historic alliance balance with Renault, reporting 20.282 billion euros in revenue and a remarkable 630.4 percent surge in the top line compared to the previous year. This translated into operating profit of 952 million euros, an upturn of 80.9 percent, and net profit of 377 million euros, up 17.9 percent.
Year to date, most metrics rise, with net profit as a notable exception. Nissan cites disciplined fiscal management, tight fixed-cost control, targeted cost optimization, and a clear profitability focus as drivers behind improved margins. The company posted an annual operating margin of 3.9 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from the prior year. Looking to the fourth quarter, Nissan anticipates some revenue decline of roughly 8.1 percent, but emphasizes ongoing financial discipline to limit the hit to operating profit and maintain positive cash flow.
Meanwhile, Sling closed the quarter with 31.748 billion euros in revenue from its automotive, motorcycle, and related segments, up from 26.382 billion a year earlier. Operating profit rose by 2.005 billion euros. For the year, Sling projects revenue of 123.309 billion euros, a modest uplift of about 0.6 percent, while maintaining operating profit near 6.219 billion euros, just shy of the prior year’s mark.
Subaru, Mazda and Mitsubishi
The rest of the major Japanese brands also reported resilience in the third quarter. Subaru, for example, did not publish period-specific figures but confirmed ongoing gains in production capacity accrued through the year, reaching an estimated 671,000 units. Revenue for April to December came in around 20.077 billion euros, a roughly 39 percent year-on-year rise, with operating profit of about 15.28 million euros, up roughly 176.9 percent. Full-year revenue reached about 26.460 billion euros, up 34.8 percent, with net profit around 15.01 million euros, a gain of approximately 231.7 percent.
Mazda and Mitsubishi also closed the quarter with positive momentum and provided broader April-to-December data. In the first nine months, Mazda posted total revenue of 15.469 billion euros, with operating profit and net profit up 24.7 percent and 71.9 percent, respectively. Mitsubishi reported a strong nine-month performance as well, with a net profit of 935.3 million euros on revenue of 12.913 billion euros and an operating margin of 1,099 million euros, up 174.7 percent year over year.
Across these brands, the fiscal year’s initial nine months show a pattern of revenue expansion and lean cost controls, backed by strategic emphasis on profitability and balanced growth rather than pursuing volume alone.