丰田集团：迈向新“世纪”之旅——丰田新品牌有望带来另一个光环效应

Masahiro Akita+81 3 6777 6998masahiro.akita@bernsteinsg.com Seunghyeok Kim+81 3 6777 6974seunghyeok.kim@bernsteinsg.com Tomohiro Kashimoto+81 3 6777 6975tomohiro.kashimoto@bernsteinsg.com Price Target The House of Toyota: A journey to the new 'Century' – Toyota'snew brand poised to deliver another halo effect This note forms part of our ‘The House of Toyota’ series. Tracing its roots to the automatedloom, Toyota has become the world’s largest automaker with a robust global footprint. Toyotais now targeting a 20% ROE through its ‘multi-pathway’ approach, a diverse brand portfolioranging from Century to Daihatsu, growing Value Chain profits, and major share buybacks. Inthis series, we analyze Toyota’s evolution and initiatives driving long-term value creation. Close Date3 Jun 20267203.JP Close Price (JPY)2,881.00Price Target (JPY)4,200.00Upside/(Downside)46%52-Week Range4,000.00/2,434.00JPL2,626.56FYEMarDiv Yield3.5%Market Cap (JPY) (B)45,505.36EV (JPY) (B)35,539.11 A journey to the new ‘Century’:Historically, the Century has served as a symbolic flagshipmodel embodying Japanese craftsmanship and national identity, earning recognition asa ‘symbol of Japan.’ At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Toyota announced that the Centurywould become a standalone brand, aiming to further elevate group-wide brand perceptionand strengthen long-term premium positioning and pricing power by placing it at the top ofthe Toyota Group portfolio. In this report, we examine how Toyota has shaped the Century’sidentity and assess how it can further leverage its distinctive heritage, often described as the‘Japanese Rolls-Royce.’ The luxury car segment targeted by Century is a JPY 21.5 tn market:The ultra-luxurysegment in which Century competes is a part of this broader JPY 21.5 tn luxury market,where brand positioning, exclusivity, and usage context matter more than volume. Thissegment is characterized by owner-driven use cases, rising demand for personalization, anda growing preference for SUVs, which we believe create a structurally supportive backdropfor Century’s expansion. Century as the next brand after Lexus to deliver another halo effect:Since Lexus wasintroduced in Japan in 2005, Toyota’s domestic ASP has risen by ~65% over the past twodecades, a trend that reflects the halo effect generated by Lexus across Toyota’s broaderlineup. As Lexus approaches the limits of its pricing and positioning, Century is poised to takethe next step above it—strengthening brand power at the top end of Toyota’s portfolio andsupporting further increases in the group’s overall ASP. Although this could take time, weview this as Toyota extending its proven brand-elevation strategy to an even higher tier. Investment Implications We reiterate ourOutperformrating onToyotawith a target price ofJPY 4,200. DETAILS THE HOUSE OF TOYOTA: A JOURNEY TO THE NEW "CENTURY" – TOYOTA'S NEW BRAND POISED TO DELIVERANOTHER HALO EFFECT Historically, the Century has served as a symbolic flagship model embodying Japanese craftsmanship and national identity,earning recognition as a ‘symbol of Japan.’ This heritage provides a strong foundation for Toyota’s current brand strategy. Lastyear, at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Toyota announced that Century would become a standalone brand. We believe Toyota’sobjective is to further elevate group-wide brand perception and strengthen long-term premium positioning and pricing powerby placing Century at the top of the Toyota Group portfolio. In this report, we examine how Toyota has shaped the identity of theCentury and assess how it can further leverage its distinctive heritage, often described as the ‘Japanese Rolls-Royce.’ CENTURY AS TOYOTA’S SYMBOLIC FLAGSHIP AND A NATIONAL ICON Since its initial model launch in Japan in 1967, Century has been developed primarily for the domestic market and has longrepresented the pinnacle of Toyota’s luxury offering. Traditionally, Century was offered only as a single sedan model, with thelatest sedan priced from JPY 23 mn (Exhibit 1), and it has maintained a unique position at the top of Japan’s luxury car marketin terms of both pricing and craftsmanship. A clear signal of change emerged under the leadership of Akio Toyoda with theintroduction of the Century SUV in 2023, priced from JPY 27 mn (Exhibit 2). This move reflected Toyota’s recognition of shiftingluxury demand toward owner-driven use cases and SUVs, which offer greater versatility, road presence, and broader appealbeyond traditional chauffeur-driven sedans. The SUV launch drew significant attention from both the market and the media,signaling that Century was no longer confined to its traditional sedan format. In 2025, Century brand sales totaled 392 units, ofwhich 123 units (~31% of total Century sales) were sedans and 269 units (~69%) were SUVs. While the vast majority of saleswere in Japan, of the 269 SUVs, 91 units were exported from Japan to mainland China. EXHIBIT 2:Century’s current SUV type model EXHIBIT 1:Cent