Toyota will begin raising production to regular levels from July in Japan and from August at overseas plants, the company said in a statement today. Output for all models will be normal by November or December, it said.
Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are working to restore full plant operations in Japan and at factories abroad that are running short of parts. Renesas Electronics Corp., a chipmaker that has 30 percent of the world market for microcontrollers used in cars, said today it will restart a damaged factory ahead of schedule, helping Toyota to form its production plan.
“Renesas has a big impact on the car industry,” said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at consultant Carnorama. “The announcement must have led Toyota to decide it can normalize by the end of the year.”
Toyota may lose production of 300,000 vehicles in Japan and 100,000 units of overseas auto production through the end of April due to quake-related shutdowns, Executive Vice President Atsushi Niimi told reporters today in Tokyo. The company is unlikely to meet its full-year global production target of7.7 million units, he said.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said today that about 150 parts are still in critically short supply, mostly of materials including rubber and plastics.
“Unlike previous natural disasters, this one has affected a very large region, affecting the entire Japanese economy across industries,” Toyoda said.