NAGOYA, Japan - Japan : Toyota motor will cut its global auto production of at least 15% in November from its new output plan or around 150,000 vehicles, due to a shortage of semiconductors and 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 infections in Southeast Asia disrupted the supply chain for auto parts.
Toyota will preserve its fiscal 2021 global production plan with 9 million vehicles despite latest output cuts. The company will bring its production back to normal and take back additional production from the plan after December, but a company source expects some uncertainty to remain.
The automaker is cutting domestic production by around 50,000 vehicles and overseas production by up to 100,000 cars from a forecast it made in late September. Production volume is expected to be around 820,000 cars next month, the same level as last November.
The automaker chips and part constraints in September tightened as COVID - 19 infections peaked. With production already hampered, Toyota is now beginning to recognize that China's ongoing power shortage will likely make parts harder to come by.
In September, Toyota revised its full-year production forecast to 9 million units. The revision was equal to 3%, or 300,000 vehicles, from its original forecast. The company kept its full-year earnings forecast on the assumption that cost cuts would offset the decrease in sales.
A Toyota supplier has acknowledged that the chip shortage is severe.
While the automaker has lowered production 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 declined to comment on this matter.