(August 19, 2021) Automotive News reported today that Toyota will slash global output about 40 percent in September as it finally feels the bite of the pandemic and the global shortage of automotive microchips. In announcing the hit, Toyota blamed the suspensions on bottlenecks in worldwide chip supplies and the outbreak of the COVID-19 delta variant in Southeast Asia.
            
The sweeping shutdowns, which begin this month and run through the end of September, will hamper Toyota output in every major market — Japan, the U.S., Europe, China and Asia.

The cutbacks will affect 14 Toyota assembly plants in Japan and 27 of 28 production lines in the U.S. Toyota said it expects to lose about 140,000 units of production from home-market factories in September, on top of another 20,000 units lost through dial backs in August.  

North American operations will lose about 80,000 vehicles, Europe about 40,000 vehicles, China some 80,000 and other Asian operations will feel an 8,000-vehicle impact.

Affected vehicles will include the RAV4 crossover and Corolla and Camry sedans, as well as the Prius hybrid, among other nameplates. Also affected is the Tahara plant that makes the Lexus LS, IS, RC, RCF and NX models. The loss represents about 40 percent of Toyota’s initially planned global output for September.

Source: Automotive News