Typically immune from the declining sales that have rocked Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Toyota recently said it anticipates its first yearly operating loss in 70 years for the fiscal year ending March 2009.
The losses will have a ripple effect on Toyota’s racing program, TRD president Lee White predicted.
“There is probably not anything on this earth here that Toyota is involved with now that is not under some level of review regarding budget expenditure,” White said in a national conference call. “That includes everything that we do, everything that TRD does and everything we do around motorsports. There is a review of everything. Certainly if contracts have expired, it’s very likely that contracts have not been renewed, or if they are being renewed, they are certainly being renegotiated.”
Toyota has been in NASCAR since 2004, with 51 victories in 125 races. Toyota also won the last three manufacturer championships in that series, including last year’s win by Johnny Benson and Bill Davis Racing in the season finale.
“Toyota isn’t spending more money than others. And if they had more money, they would not spend more money than others,” White said. “That is absolutely the culture of our company to not take advantage and be predatory of other people’s difficulties. We are under very strict orders and instructions from our company to watch every penny. The idea that we’re going to come in and suddenly take advantage of all the other things that are going on in the world are absolutely false.”
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