Toyota Recalls: Big Financial Impact Ahead

The financial toll from Toyota's recall woes, compounded by legal battles and a spoiled image, could cost the company in ways that would probably be difficult for most to stomach.

By Andrea Tse , Mar 16, 2010 11:31 AM EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The financial toll from Toyota's (TM) - Get Report recall woes, compounded by legal battles and a spoiled image, could cost the company massively, according to Toyota.

The automaker has now recalled roughly 8.5 million vehicles globally

including the 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, pictured above and Toyota believes that this and its other headaches could cost the company up to $2 billion, which consists of repairs and vanished sales, according to the

Associated Press.

However, JP Morgan is more pessimistic and believes that Toyota could take a financial hit of up to $5.5 billion, which includes costs tied to both the recalls and lawsuits,

reports.

The report adds that at least 89 class-action lawsuits have been brought against Toyota and could exceed $3 billion in costs for the automaker.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Securities sees a ballpark $3.2 billion hit to Toyota's earnings, and Macquarie Securities believes that Toyota's U.S. market share could fall from the pre-recall figure of 17% to roughly 13% during the January to March quarter due to bad publicity, according to

AP.

Despite all the daunting projections for Toyota, the report says the automaker continues to foresee a net profit of 80 billion yen, or about $885 million in the fiscal year concluding at the end of March, compared with a net loss of about 437 billion yen the year before.

-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

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