Toyota’s year-on-year output rises in August as chip crunch eases

Tokyo, Japan | Xinhua | Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday said its year-on-year production rose for the first time in five months in August as the negative effects of a global semiconductor crunch eased.

The Aichi Prefecture-based automaker also said its worldwide production increased from a year earlier by 44.3 percent to 766,683 vehicles in August, marking a record high for the month.

The maker of the Prius hybrid and Corolla sedan models said it had increased production in China and North America by sourcing semiconductors from its suppliers through enhanced communication.

As a result, Toyota said its output overseas doubled in China, and rose 24.6 percent in North America. Production in Japan, meanwhile, grew 5.6 percent in the recording period to about 196,000 vehicles.

Overall, overseas output totaled over 570,000 cars, which marked more than a 65 percent increase, the automaker said, beating its mid-July forecast for a total of 700,000 vehicles, but missing its earlier estimate of producing 850,000 vehicles.

Toyota’s global sales rose for the first time in a year, owing to an 8.8 percent increase in sales in its overseas markets, with a total of 777,047 units being sold, up 3.8 percent, with sales in August alone marking a new record at 694,272 vehicles.

Sales in Japan retreated, however, reversing 25.8 percent to 82,775 units, impacted by output of new cars being cut, Toyota said.