Toyota picks up speed despite China hit

Toyota has bumped up its profit expectations for the year to £6bn, despite its sales in China, the world's biggest car market, withering away due to a domestic boycott of Japanese cars as part of a territorial dispute.

Last month Toyota's sales in China plunged 44 per cent as locals stopped buying goods from Japanese companies after Tokyo nationalised two disputed East China Sea islands.

But strong sales elsewhere meant Toyota tripled its profit in the three months to September to ¥257bn (£2bn), up from ¥80.4bn a year earlier.