Toyota plans 17% cut in global production in April

The Toyota brand is seen at its sales space throughout a media day for the Auto Shanghai present in Shanghai, China, April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Track

TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) is reducing its world manufacturing goal in April to 750,000 autos, down 150,000 from an earlier plan, the automaker mentioned on Thursday, as a semiconductor scarcity and the COVID-19 pandemic chew into its plans.

The information comes a couple of week after Toyota mentioned it might cut back home manufacturing by as much as 20% throughout the months of April, Could and June to ease the pressure on suppliers battling shortages of chips and different components. learn extra

“It’s nonetheless troublesome to foresee the state of affairs a number of months forward, and there’s a chance the present plan can be revised downward,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement.

Common month-to-month world manufacturing for the interval from April to June could be about 800,000, Toyota added.

Its world automobile manufacturing can be down 10% in Could and 5% in June from earlier estimates originally of the yr, mentioned Toyota government Kazunari Kumakura.

The shortages have led the automaker to repeatedly change its manufacturing plan, irritating suppliers and prompting President Akio Toyoda to name the interval from April by means of June an “intentional cooling off” interval.

Aside from the persistent chips scarcity, Toyota faces quite a lot of challenges.

Curbs towards COVID-19 compelled it to droop a three way partnership with China’s FAW Group within the northeastern metropolis of Changchun.

The automaker additionally cited logistical hurdles for suspension at a plant in Russia amid political uncertainty sparked by the Ukraine invasion, which Russia calls a particular operation.

These components weren’t mirrored within the April-June world manufacturing plan, Kumakura mentioned, including that whereas Toyota had not but suffered particular impacts from the Ukraine disaster, it might look into short- and long-term dangers.

Reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Satoshi Sugiyama; Enhancing by Kim Coghill and Clarence Fernandez

: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.