Oct 8th, 2008 by RJ Menezes
Toyota has just been surpassed by Volkswagen as the world’s most valuable automaker. The Japanese manufacturer’s stocks took a plunge and slumped to a 12 month low in the market.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Depository Receipts of Toyota closed Tuesday at $68.54. This price puts the company a value of $108 billion. In comparison, VW’s market cap on European exchanges at the close of trading on Tuesday was $123 billion.
One can argue that Porsche’s ever-growing stake in Volkswagen is driving up market shares. The German sports car manufacturer is in the process of taking over majority stake in VW. But still, it’s easy to see why Toyota has slumped so bad. Sales are down almost 30% in the U.S. alone, and in recent months the company has been on a down slope. The company is now offering 0% financing on 11 models in a hope to boost sales.
-Source: Edmund’s Inside Line