Toyota's R&D expenditure 2007-2020

Toyota incurred research and development (R&D) costs of about 1.1 trillion Japanese yen in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. Not only is the Toyota Motor Corporation Japan’s largest automotive manufacturer, it is also ranked as the number one carmaker worldwide in terms of automobile production.

Toyota’s research and development expenses

The weak yen has clearly helped Toyota export more vehicles. However, the company was hit hard by the 2008/2009 worldwide financial crisis, and its research and development expenses hit rock bottom in the fiscal year of 2010, only to finally reach pre-crisis levels in the fiscal year of 2014. In 2018, Toyota was among the top 20 companies with the highest spending on research and development. Toyota's R&D costs crossed the one trillion yen mark in 2019 and continued to notch up in 2020. In a statement, the company announced that it would not cut back on research and development activities in the 2021 fiscal year, despite the coronavirus crisis.