Restructuring efforts and strong sales in the United States helped the five major Japanese automakers record drastically higher profits in the year through March 31.
But the pace of growth will slow in the current business year, due to the appreciation of the yen and the weakening of the U.S. economy, according to industrial experts.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday its group net profit is expected to rise 7 percent to 40 billion yen in fiscal 2003 from the year before. Its net profit surged more than fourfold year-on-year in fiscal 2002 to 37.4 billion yen.