Shares of Toyota Motor Co., along with parts makers and retailers with exposure to the Japanese auto maker, dropped after the company suspended sales of eight models in the U.S. and Canada in response to growing concerns about sticky accelerator pedals.
=> Bilibala think this will only have short term impact to sales and profit and don't think it will harm the brand name too seriously, assume this only last for 1 week.
The halt—which includes the Camry and Corolla sedans, two of the biggest sellers in North America—follows two major safety recalls in the last five months over sudden unintended acceleration concerns. The first recall, the company's biggest ever, at 4.2 million vehicles, was caused by improperly installed floor mats, according to Toyota. It recalled an additional 2.3 million vehicles, though most of the vehicles in the second recall, about 1.7 million, were part of the earlier action.
Toyota shares were recently down 7.6%.
Toyota said it will stop producing the affected vehicles at several North American plants for one week starting Feb. 1.
The news weighed on American depositary shares of Toyota, which were recently down 7.6% to $80.19. Fellow Japanese auto maker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. slid 1.6% to $33.95, though analysts said the company could benefit from Toyota's problems.
Toyota, which last year surpassed General Motors Co. to become the world's largest auto maker by sales, has long been viewed as a leader in automotive quality, and the sales halt raises some concerns about whether the auto company has sacrificed quality in its quest to capture global market share.
"We believe the company's once pristine 'quality' reputation is tarnished and will likely result in market share loss over next one to two years," Buckingham Research analyst Joseph C. Amaturo said in a note. "Historically, quality issues have had a profound impact on sales, especially when incidents resulted in media-publicized personal fatality."
Wall Street Strategies analyst David Silver said the impact on Toyota depends on how long the sales are halted. The eight models represented 57% of Toyota's 2009 U.S. sales.
"If it's a week [halt], then we'll see muted impact for the whole year," Silver said. "But even if this lasts two days, January sales are going to be down dramatically."
He said that could be good news for Ford Motor Co. and other auto makers as consumers wanting to buy cars look at their offerings. Ford shares recently gained 1.9% to $11.40.
"If someone was going to buy a Corolla or a Camry, if they need the car now, they're not going to wait," Silver said. "If they're not set on a Camry, they might go look at the other auto makers. It brings in more competition."
Auto parts makers declined on the news, with Buckingham's Amaturo noting the companies will likely be hurt by near-term production halts, as well as longer-term market share loss.
CTS Corp., which supplies the part believed to have caused the problem for Toyotas, fell 7.2% to $8.01. Gentex Corp., which Amaturo said derives about 13% of its sales from Toyota, slipped 13 cents to $17.30, while BorgWarner Inc. declined 3.1% to $35.10. Autoliv Inc. slid 1.2% to $41.02.
Meanwhile, auto retailers with significant Toyota/Lexus exposure also dropped, includingGroup 1 Automotive Inc., which fell 7.6% to $29.07, and Penske Automotive Group Inc., which lost 4.4% to $14.18. AutoNation Inc. slipped 2.2% to $18.14.
Analysts said nearly 40% of Group 1's new units are from Toyota, while about 20% of Penske's cars are from the Japanese auto maker. Amaturo said the companies' service and parts businesses could benefit from the recall, though long-term negatives will likely outweigh short-term benefits.
Wells Fargo Securities analyst Matt Nemer estimates that each week of suspended sales leads to a loss of about $850,000 to $1.5 million in gross profit and a loss of 1 cent to 2 cents in earnings a week for the public dealers. He said new vehicle sales generate about 30% of gross profit.
"However, the impact of new vehicle sales to the bottom line is likely lower given the high expense of running the business including sales commissions, advertising and inventory financing," Mr. Nemer noted, adding that the sales stoppage also affects used vehicles for the models.
He said he would encourage long-term investors to add to positions on any severe weakness as checks indicate the issue could be resolved relatively quickly and service and parts revenue related to the recalls "creates a significant opportunity, which potentially overshadows a few weeks of lost unit sales."
