Toyota cuts production again for May and June

Car giant Toyota has announced another round of production cuts for its Japanese factories – joining more than 15 production pauses since the start of this year alone – as it continues to battle chronic parts shortages.

The latest cut will reportedly see 100,000 cars slashed from Toyota’s production plans for June – to approximately 850,000 vehicles – due to ongoing semiconductor shortages, combined with the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai affecting the supply of parts.

It builds upon production cuts announced over the last month, which have seen Toyota’s forecast for the number of vehicles planned to roll off the line in May drop to 700,000 – down from the 900,000 monthly average announced in early 2022.

The pauses are likely to further extend wait times for new Toyota buyers in Australia, which are already facing wait times beyond 12 months for popular models including the RAV4 Hybrid – or up to two and a half years for the LandCruiser 70 Series four-wheel-drive.

Toyota Australia has been contacted for comment. Meanwhile, Toyota’s global headquarters said in a statement: “Due to the impact of semiconductor shortages, we have adjusted our production plan by tens of thousands of units globally from the number provided to our suppliers at the beginning of the year.

“The average global production plan from June through August is around 850,000 units, and 9.7 million units for the full period of fiscal year 2023,” the statement read.

“The shortage of semiconductors, spread of COVID-19 and other factors are making it difficult to look ahead, but we will continue to make every effort possible to deliver as many vehicles to our customers at the earliest date.”

Affected Toyota models include the C-HR, Yaris Cross, GR Yaris, Corolla, RAV4, LandCruiser 70 and 300 Series, and Prado, while affected Lexus cars include the LC, ES, LS, UX, NX, RX and LX.

The Lexus NX and UX ranges are among the hardest hit, with stoppages on June 2 and 3 adding to nine days of no production over the course of May.

There will have been 10 days of paused Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, 300 Series and Lexus LX production between May 16 and 28, while Toyota’s three RAV4 production lines will pause for between three and eight days.

For a full list of Toyota’s latest May and June production cuts – and those announced earlier this month for May – click here to visit the company’s website. A table of the affected factories which build model lines sold in Australia is below.