Toyota, BMW beat forecasts, but firms remain cautious

TOKYO/FRANKFURT: Leading global automakers reported forecast-beating quarterly results yesterday, but continued to give cautious outlooks for the industry, which remains hard hit by weak demand and a lack of consumer credit.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker by sales, beat targets with an operating loss of 194.9 billion yen in the April-June quarter, and lifted an earlier cautious outlook, but luxury carmaker BMW said markets were too volatile to make a full-year forecast.

Toyota, maker of the popular Prius hybrid car, posted its third consecutive quarterly loss, but upped its targets for the full year.