Amid strong demand in major markets such as Japan, Europe, and North America, this world's largest auto manufacturer has increased its share buyback program to 1.2 trillion yen ($8.3 billion). $Toyota Motor (TM.US)$ Amid strong demand in major markets such as Japan, Europe, and North America, this world's largest auto manufacturer has increased its share buyback program to 1.2 trillion yen ($8.3 billion).

According to a document submitted to the exchange on Tuesday, this Japanese manufacturer has added 200 billion yen to the 1 trillion yen share buyback plan announced in May. This means the company may buy back up to 3.93% of its shares. The company stated that this decision was based on the "recent stock price levels".

Currently, Toyota's stock price is basically flat compared to January, rising only 1% so far this year, while the Nikkei 225 index has gained 13.4%. Meanwhile, Toyota is delivering strong financial performance.

For the three months ending on June 30, the operating profit of the auto manufacturer was 1.31 trillion yen, a 17% year-on-year increase. Its hybrid models are selling well in the North American market, and the weakening yen is helping to boost Toyota's revenue in local currency terms.

Toyota stated that the share buyback plan announced in May will continue until April 2025.

Increasing the buyback efforts also aligns with broader efforts by the Japanese government to unwind the cross-shareholdings that have been formed over decades to solidify business relationships among large corporations.

In July of this year, as part of a wider effort to unwind its strategic investments with financial partners, toyota motor announced that it will buy back 806.8 billion Japanese yen worth of stocks from major banks and insurance companies in japan.

According to previous reports, mitsubishi ufj financial group (MUFG.US) and sumitomo mitsui financial group (SMFG.US) will begin divesting their strategic stakes in toyota valued at 1.32 trillion Japanese yen.