When cruise control isn't fast enough: Toyota needs to see beyond cost cuts

Even if optimistic investors aren't banging the table for growth drivers just yet, it may behoove the company to have a couple of ideas up its sleeve

By the looks of it, Toyota Motor Corp. is holding steady, even as other carmakers flail. But some caution is warranted.

Toyota has consistently outperformed its rivals over the last year as the industry struggles with everything from technology adoption to tariffs. Its shares are down just 5 per cent in the past year, compared with its peers’ average of almost 10 per cent. Some have slumped more than 20 per cent.

On Wednesday, Toyota announced that its automotive division’s operating income rose 1.4 per cent for the 2019 fiscal year, mainly thanks to cost cuts. Still, in an earnings press conference,