BMW, Toyota lift auto industry spirits

German luxury car manufacturer BMW returned to profit and the world's largest automaker Toyota posted better-than-expected results on Tuesday, further signs that the troubled industry has turned a corner.

The day after US giant Ford recorded its first increase in sales for almost two years, BMW said it had made a net profit of 121 million euros (174 million dollars) in the three months from April to June, well above forecasts.

Japan's Toyota Motor also confounded predictions by logging a net loss of 77.8 billion yen (817 million dollars) for the April-June quarter -- leaving it still deep in the red but much better than forecasts of a 200 billion yen loss.

Neither company said that the results indicated the auto industry was out of the woods, but sounded cautiously optimistic.

"Even though some indicators suggest that the economic situation might improve in the second half of the year -- we remain cautious," BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer said in a statement.

In the first three months of the year, BMW had posted a net loss of 152 million euros. The new figure, while back in the black, was 76 percent less than the 507 million euros profit it posted in the same period in 2008.

An average analyst forecast, compiled by Dow Jones Newswires, had predicted BMW was on course for a loss of 25 million euros.

Citing "an increasingly competitive environment" and "high volatility of international financial and raw materials markets," BMW did not give a detailed outlook for this year.

However it repeated that it expected 2009 sales to be lower than in the previous year, before picking up in 2010 following the roll out of new models.

Toyota managing director Takahiko Ijichi meanwhile said that government subsidies and tax cuts had helped an improvement in domestic sales.

Toyota, which last year suffered its first annual loss, now expects to sell 6.6 million vehicles in the year, up from a previous goal of 6.5 million.

It narrowed its annual net loss forecast to 450 billion yen from 550 billion and trimmed its operating loss projection to 750 billion yen from 850 billion.

"The current situation is still very severe. We can't be sure whether (the market) will enter a sustainable recovery," Ijichi added to reporters.

Government incentives helped Toyota's revamped Prius hybrid become the top-selling car in Japan in May and June.

The Japanese maker has idled plants and slashed thousands of temporary jobs as it tries to weather the worst global downturn in decades, but has so far avoided closing plants or firing regular employees.

The glimmers of hope at Toyota contrasted sharply with its fellow Japanese firm Yamaha Motor Co. which said its loss in 2009 would be more than four times bigger than expected because of sluggish motorcycle sales and a strong yen.

Yamaha forecast a net loss of 182 billion yen (1.9 billion dollars) for its business year through December, the first such shortfall in 26 years.

While Asian sales have been relatively robust, demand for motorcycles and other key products has been sluggish in Europe and the United States, "with no sign of recovery in sight," Yamaha said in a statement.

The auto sector was one of the first to be hit by the global economic crisis because of a collapse in demand and it is being closely watched by economists as an indicator of recovery.

Many leading economies, including Germany and the United States, have recently implemented a bonus scheme for car buyers to trade in their old models in a drive to boost sales and promote more eco-friendly transport.

The US scheme helped Ford Motor Co. to report Monday its first increase in sales in almost two years, posting a 2.3 percent increase in total sales in July to 165,279. Retail sales at its core brands -- Ford, Lincoln and Mercury -- rose nine percent.

Chrysler Group reported a nine percent drop in total US auto sales in July to 88,900 vehicles but said retail sales were up by 52 percent thanks to the "cash for clunkers" trade-in programme.