GENEVA (Kyodo) Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota Motor Corp., says the carmaker is feeling the pinch from the yen's spike against the dollar and will move more manufacturing offshore to minimize the adverse effects.
A strong yen "has put our business in a very tight spot," Watanabe told a news conference Monday in Geneva, where he was visiting for an auto show.
He expressed hope that sharp fluctuations in exchange rates will be averted as much as possible.
Amid growing fears of a recession in the United States, the dollar has fallen sharply against other major currencies. It has recently traded at the ¥103 level compared with the ¥108-¥109 level at the beginning of this year.
Commenting on this year's outlook for the North American market, Watanabe said the business environment there should be either about the same as last year or a bit tougher, although the economy will likely start to recover from the subprime mortgage crisis in the second half of the year.
"Still, we have already set a sales target at slightly higher than last year, and we continue to stand by that target," Watanabe said.
Tokyo concerned
Kyodo NewsThe government expressed concern Tuesday about the recent sharp rise in the yen's value against the dollar.
The speed of the yen's rise is "very fast," economic and fiscal policy minister Hiroko Ota said. She refused to comment on possible government intervention into the currency market.
Ota said a Cabinet Office survey has found Japanese firms think their profits may be adversely impacted by foreign-exchange movements when the dollar falls below ¥106.
The dollar fell to the upper ¥102 level Monday in Tokyo, the lowest level over the last three years, over fears of a U.S. recession, before rising back to the ¥103 range Tuesday.