company said in a prepared statement Thursday.
“While the situation remains fluid and complex,
our manufacturing and supply chain teams have
worked diligently to develop countermeasures to
minimize the impact on production.”
The company said production cuts in North
America are not expected to have an impact on
staffing levels.
In Japan, production will halt completely next
month at some plants and partly at others,
affecting a wide range of models, including
the Corolla subcompact, Prius hybrid and Land
Cruiser sport utility vehicle.
Global production for September will decline
by 360,000 vehicles, according to Toyota Motor
Corp. But it stuck to its annual forecast to
produce 9.3 million vehicles, as coronavirus risks
were figured in.
Of the lost production out of Japan, 140,
vehicles are for Japan and 220,000 for overseas,
with 80,000 in the U.S., 40,000 in Europe, 80,
in China, 8,000 in the rest of Asia and about
10,000 in other regions.
Toyota had already announced smaller
production cuts for July and August in Japan.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience
caused to our customers and suppliers due to
these changes,” Toyota said.
A shortage of the computer chips used widely in
vehicles has been problematic for months as the
world appeared to emerge from the pandemic
and demand surged. Toyota had not been hit as
hard as some other major automakers, and now
the spread of the delta variant has introduced
new complications.