Breakingviews - COMMENTARY: Toyota robots reboot its China battle plan

HONG KONG, Nov 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $326 bln carmaker's shares surged after it hiked its earnings forecast by 15%, boosted buybacks and unveiled robotics plans. A droid strategy helped Hyundai double its valuation ⁠multiple. Toyota's push could also yield smarter cars to help it compete with Chinese rivals.

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Context News* Toyota Motors on November 5 revised up its full-year operating income forecast by 15% to 3.9 trillion yen, ⁠expanded a shareholder returns program and announced plans to commercialise its robotics business.

• Operating profit rose 9.2% year-on-year to 2.2 trillion yen ($14 billion) ⁠in July to September, while revenue rose 9.5% to 27 trillion yen.

• The carmaker said it would ⁠allocate up to 14 trillion yen for shareholder returns through March 2031.

• Shares fell ⁠nearly 5% to 3,370 yen on November 6, after rising 17% on November 5.

Editing by Una Galani; Production by Eileen Soreng

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Katrina Hamlin

Thomson Reuters

Katrina Hamlin is global production editor, based in Hong Kong. She is also a columnist, writing on topics including autos and electric vehicles, as well as the gambling industry in Macau and Asia. Before joining Reuters in 2012, Katrina was deputy managing editor of Shanghai Business Review magazine. She graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA in Classics, and earned a Masters of Journalism with distinction from the University of Hong Kong.