Toyota expecting $5b annual loss

Toyota Motor is expected to suffer a second consecutive annual loss as the financial crisis continues to affect the world's auto industry. The world's biggest automaker might suffer an operating loss of 500 billion yen ($5 billion) for the current fiscal year, which started on April 1, as the prospects of a recovery in the world's auto industry remains bleak, the Japanese daily Nikkei reported on Sunday. Toyota has already said it estimates an operating loss of 450 billion yen -- its first annual loss in nearly 60 years -- for the last fiscal year, which ended on March 31. The Japanese automaker's revenue is expected to fall from an estimated 21 trillion yen last year to around 20 trillion yen this year, the business daily said. The forecast is mainly due to the global financial crisis which has severely affected the US, Japan and Europe's auto industries and sharply slashed sales across the world. Toyota group auto sales are now estimated at 6.5 million vehicles for the current fiscal year -- which, if confirmed, would be the first time they have fallen below seven million units, Nikkei said. A strong yen against the dollar and the euro, which has lowered the competitiveness of Japanese products overseas, is another factor which is contributing to Toyota's second consecutive annual loss. Toyota sold 8.97 million vehicles last year to end American General Motors' 77-year run as the world's largest automaker.