In a release dated October 15, Toyota Motors announced it would drop its November production targets from roughly 1 million units to between 900,000 and 850,000 units, a cut of between 10-15%. Toyota’s home operations in Japan will make roughly 50,000 fewer vehicles than initially planned, and it will make between 50,000 to 100,000 fewer cars and trucks overseas.
“Actual production has remained below planned levels since August,” the company said. “However, with the cooperation of our suppliers, we have been thoroughly examining each and every case of possible parts shortage in the supply chain.”
As previously, the production loss is due to the ongoing parts shortage plaguing auto manufacturers worldwide. Toyota said Friday it would implement anti-COVID-19 measures at its plants and suppliers, a response to parts shortages from Southeastern Asia caused by outbreaks of the pandemic there, and consider alternatives to scarce semiconductor computer chips.
“Since we expect the shortage of semiconductors to continue in the long-term, we will consider the use of substitutes where possible,” Toyota said.
The production cut is less severe than previous cuts in September and October. The Japanese automaker initially cut September targets by 40% from 900,000 units to 500,000. Then, in September, the company cut that number by a further 70,000 units while announcing another 40% production cut for the month of October.
In previous production cuts, Toyota slashed its full-year production target to 9 million units produced during financial year 2021, which, for Toyota, ends after March 2022. The automaker left that target in place in its most recent update despite the most recent cut to November production.
