Toyota's vehicle output shrinks before planned production hike

TOYOTA Motor produced 5.3 per cent fewer vehicles in May than a year earlier as it slowed output due to supply-chain disruptions afflicting global manufacturers.

Output totalled 634,940 vehicles in May, the Japanese carmaker said on Wednesday (Jun 29). Toyota sold 761,466 vehicles globally last month, down from 840,303 vehicles a year earlier.

Toyota said earlier this year it intended to "pause" production for the April-June quarter due to global supply-chain issues, with president Akio Toyoda warning that a push to boost output under such conditions could lead to "exhaustion."

Toyota is still shielding itself relatively well from the tumult, including fallout from the Covid lockdown in Shanghai, and intends to significantly raise output in the coming months.

The company last week said it aims to boost July-September production by 40 per cent from a year earlier, churning out an average of 850,000 vehicles a month.

Toyota has "withstood automotive industry disruption better than most of its peers owing in part to its global diversification and the strength of its supplier relationships," CreditSights senior analyst Todd Duvick wrote in a report earlier this month.

While all automakers are susceptible to deteriorating vehicle sales in the event of a recession, Toyota's scale, range of products and geographic diversification should limit profit deterioration relative to its peers, Duvick wrote. BLOOMBERG