Toyota, the world's biggest car maker by sales, is expected on Thursday to report a net loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30. It has said it expects a pretax loss for the full fiscal year through March of about 700 billion yen ($7.75 billion). The company recently announced plans to shutter an unprofitable California assembly plant it owned jointly with the former General Motors Corp., as part of a push by Mr. Toyoda and his management team to reduce excess capacity in North America.
Toyota's departure adds to a heap of woes facing Formula One recently. Last year, Honda Motor Co. said it was dropping out of F1 because of the global economic slowdown. Then, in July, BMW AG followed suit, citing falling sales, poor racing results and the mismatch between F1's gas-guzzling extravagance and BMW's quest for a greener image. In September, the sport's reputation was damaged when Renault SA's team was penalized for intentionally crashing one of its cars to help another Renault car win a race. And this past Monday, Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. said it wouldn't renew its exclusive deal to supply tires for F1 when its contract expires in 2010.
Although a marginal sport in the U.S., F1 has established itself as the pinnacle of international motor racing and attracts huge television audiences in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. That has made the sport a big business, with sponsorship and television deals totaling billions of dollars.
Toyota was one of a handful of companies that both sponsored its own team and provided engines for other teams. With its departure, Renault, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit and Ferrari are the only three top-tier auto makers still in the sport. The loss of sponsors and team owners is "a sign that the cost of participation is too high during a downturn," said Caroline Reid, author of "Formula Money," a book about the business of Formula One.
While the defections of giants such as Toyota drain F1 of huge amounts of money and other support, there could be a silver lining, said James Roberts, news editor at London-based F1 Racing magazine. Mr. Roberts said the departures could help democratize the sport, leading it away from dominance by big car makers and back toward its roots as a competition for small specialist teams.
Toyota's absence "would make it easier for more independent teams with smaller budgets to come into the race and compete more closely with others," he said. "It would make F1 more exciting."
The media office of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which governs Formula One, didn't respond to requests for commentabout Toyota's withdrawal.
Toyota's departure adds to a heap of woes facing Formula One recently. Last year, Honda Motor Co. said it was dropping out of F1 because of the global economic slowdown. Then, in July, BMW AG followed suit, citing falling sales, poor racing results and the mismatch between F1's gas-guzzling extravagance and BMW's quest for a greener image. In September, the sport's reputation was damaged when Renault SA's team was penalized for intentionally crashing one of its cars to help another Renault car win a race. And this past Monday, Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. said it wouldn't renew its exclusive deal to supply tires for F1 when its contract expires in 2010.
Although a marginal sport in the U.S., F1 has established itself as the pinnacle of international motor racing and attracts huge television audiences in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. That has made the sport a big business, with sponsorship and television deals totaling billions of dollars.
Toyota was one of a handful of companies that both sponsored its own team and provided engines for other teams. With its departure, Renault, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit and Ferrari are the only three top-tier auto makers still in the sport. The loss of sponsors and team owners is "a sign that the cost of participation is too high during a downturn," said Caroline Reid, author of "Formula Money," a book about the business of Formula One.
While the defections of giants such as Toyota drain F1 of huge amounts of money and other support, there could be a silver lining, said James Roberts, news editor at London-based F1 Racing magazine. Mr. Roberts said the departures could help democratize the sport, leading it away from dominance by big car makers and back toward its roots as a competition for small specialist teams.
Toyota's absence "would make it easier for more independent teams with smaller budgets to come into the race and compete more closely with others," he said. "It would make F1 more exciting."
The media office of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which governs Formula One, didn't respond to requests for commentabout Toyota's withdrawal.
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