Japanese automaker Toyota said on Friday it would cut its November production target by up to 15 percent at home and abroad as the pandemic and global semiconductor shortages made it difficult for the company to meet its short-term manufacturing targets.
Automakers around the world have struggled to accelerate demand for their vehicles as pandemic restrictions ease in the world’s biggest auto markets and consumers make up for lost time. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Friday that new car registrations in September fell 25 percent from a year earlier, mainly because dealers didn’t have enough cars to sell due to a shortage of semiconductors.
The automotive industry has been hit hard by factors such as global shortages of semiconductors – supply chain crises and rising sales of home electronics during the lockdown, the European Manufacturers Association said, with Volkswagen reporting a 28 percent decline for September. Several automakers last year reduced orders for parts due to uncertainty about the pandemic’s impact on sales, and they are now struggling to source new components.
Other industry players have announced cuts to their manufacturing plans as a result, but Toyota, which had a stockpile of chips, was able to last longer than its competitors.
In September, however, Toyota announced substantial cuts to its production targets for September and October, citing a shortage of semiconductors and difficulties in obtaining parts from suppliers in Southeast Asia, which were affected by the coronavirus. .
Toyota initially planned to produce one million vehicles in November, hoping to make up for past production shortfalls and meet strong global demand.
But continued difficulties in getting supplies have forced it to change those plans. The company now projects that it will make 850,000 to 900,000 vehicles next month. It made 830,000 vehicles during the same period last year.
In a statement posted on its website, Toyota said it still expected to meet its annual production forecast of nine million vehicles — adjusted from 9.3 million in September — by the end of the next fiscal year.
The company said it was considering strategies to address its supply chain difficulties, noting that “we expect semiconductor shortages to continue over the long term.”
