Automakers still face challenges ramping production back up, including Toyota.
On Thursday, the company announced its production target of 750,000 vehicles in April 2022. Supply chain issues related to the ongoing semiconductor shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to tamp down expectations, even in a period when automakers are making every effort to raise manufacturing output and alleviate low dealer inventories.
Depending on how the situation evolves, Toyota said last week it could cut global production in May and June as well. According to a Reuters report, it would scale back its efforts by up to 20% in each of those months to relieve the strain on its suppliers. The company’s previous production target for April 2022 was 900,000 vehicles, so this cut amounts to nearly 17%.
“It is still difficult to foresee the situation several months ahead, and there is a possibility the current plan will be revised downward,” Toyota said in its statement. At the moment, however, the automaker is confident it will only be slightly down from its estimates earlier in the year as we roll into May and June.
Manufacturers industry-wide are still navigating several challenging factors, any of which can exacerbate an already tight new car market. Per Automotive News reports, world events including the war in Ukraine and a recent earthquake in Japan will hamper global production estimates through 2022, and possibly 2023. We’ll have a better idea of how those challenges have impacted sales when companies release their quarterly sales results in early April.
