Parts shortages continue to plague Toyota Motor Corporation, as the company announced it will be extending production stoppages in its home market of Japan following disruptions across its Southeast Asia supply chain.
More bad news for Toyota as its ASEAN supply chains are affected by COVID-19 lockdowns
In a report by Reuters, the world’s biggest automaker by production volume cited COVID-19 lockdowns across the region as the reason behind the extended suspensions in its domestic facilities. From 9,000 units, Toyota now projects it will have a backlog of 14,000 vehicles in December, mainly affecting the Land Cruiser line as well as various models across the carmaker’s luxury arm Lexus.
Earlier work stoppages enforced in Malaysia and Vietnam, where Toyota sources its components, have resulted in a lack of parts, impacting production activities in its Japanese factories. Despite Toyota’s plants and suppliers in ASEAN taking thorough quarantine and vaccination measures, it said that maintaining operations continues to be challenging due to the unpredictable spread of COVID-19 infections, adding that it is working to transfer production to other regions.
The automaker is still pursuing a target of 9 million vehicles for the current fiscal year
Nevertheless, the carmaker is committing to an annual worldwide production target of 9 million vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. This is down from the original forecast of 9.3 million
Toyota’s previous estimates pointed to a worldwide production shortfall of 70,000 units for September 2021, with 30,000 of these in the domestic market. In October, it predicted an even bigger global backlog of 330,000 units, of which 150,000 will affect Japanese customers.
Demand for semiconductors across all industries continues to increase, with chips being diverted mainly to smartphones, computers, and gaming consoles for customers forced to stay home due to the pandemic.
Despite the Lexus ES included among production cuts, it still managed to arrive in the Philippines
The Japanese automaker said it is continuously assessing the situation, coordinating with related companies to discuss medium- and long-term efforts to address the issue. Among the measures Toyota is taking is prioritizing models with high demand for production.
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