NAGOYA, Japan — Toyota Motor will cut its global auto production in November by 15% from its latest output plan, or around 150,000 vehicles, due to a shortage of semiconductors and the power crunch in China, Nikkei has learned.
The move comes after the Japanese automaker cut its production by 40% from its initial plan from September to October as the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia disrupted the supply chain for auto parts.
Toyota will maintain its global production plan for fiscal 2021 at 9 million vehicles despite the latest output cuts. The company aims to bring its production back to normal and top up from the plan after December, but a company source expects some uncertainty to remain.
The automaker will cut domestic production by around 50,000 vehicles and overseas output by up to 100,000 cars from a forecast it made in late September. Production volume next month is expected to be around 820,000 cars, the same level as last November.
The automakers’ chip and auto part constraints tightened in September as COVID-19 infections surged. With production already hampered, Toyota is now beginning to recognize that China’s ongoing power shortage will likely make parts even harder to come by.
In September, Toyota downwardly revised its full-year production forecasts to 9 million units. The revision was equal to 3%, or 300,000 vehicles, from its initial forecast. The company kept its full-year earnings forecast based on the assumption that cost cuts would offset the decrease in sales.
A Toyota supplier has acknowledged that the chip shortage remains severe.
While the automaker has reduced output for three months in a row, attention will focus on whether it can bring the production level back to normal after December.
In September, Toyota told some suppliers that its auto production in December would be around 1 million units, up 30% from a year earlier.
Toyota announced adjustments to their production plans late Friday afternoon.