Plus, Tesla wanted to unveil its robotaxi in China last month, and Daimler says the U.S. needs to invest in EV infrastructure for trucks. Toyota made a ton of cash last year—to be more precise, $34.5 billion in profits.

Toyota Motor Corp. gave a tepid outlook after recent scandals forced it to cut production, overshadowing a surge in hybrid sales that boosted profit to a record last year.

Toyota has forecast a 20 per cent decline in annual profit as the world’s largest carmaker increases spending in electric vehicles and artificial intelligence in a bid to create a “game changer” to compete against Chinese rivals.

Toyota Motor projected a drop in fiscal-year profit and announced a share buyback after posting a rise in fourth-quarter net profit thanks partly to a weaker yen.

Toyota Motor forecast a 20% decline in operating profit for the current financial year on Wednesday, after reporting a blockbuster 78% profit increase in the fourth quarter that just ended. The world's top-selling automaker expects operating income to total 4.

Profits rose at Japanese car giant Toyota for the fiscal year ending March 31, with the firm reporting that its net income attributable to the company hit ¥4.94 trillion ($32 billion) or ¥365.94 per share from ¥2.