Toyota output falls after quake
Source: Bloomberg News |
April 26, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TOYOTA Motor Corp said its global output fell 30 percent to 542,465 vehicles in March, led by a drop in Japan after a massive earthquake disrupted production.
Production in Japan plunged 63 percent to 129,491 vehicles, the company said in a statement yesterday. Exports declined 33 percent to 107,751.
Toyota, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co are working to restore full operations after last month's 9.0 magnitude temblor and tsunami damaged factories and caused parts and power shortages. Toyota's lead over General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG, the second and third-largest car makers, may be narrowed this year as the Japanese company expects production may not return to normal until December.
"Japanese car makers' biggest problem is that they want to keep core technology for key components in Japan," said John Zeng, a Shanghai-based analyst for researcher J.D. Power & Associates. Those components include computer chips and key engine parts, he said.
Renesas Electronics Corp, a chip maker that has 30 percent of the world market for microcontrollers used in cars, said April 22 it will restart production at a damaged factory on June 15, prompting Toyota to say production will return to normal levels by December at the latest.
Toyota may lose production of 300,000 vehicles in Japan and 100,000 overseas through the end of April due to quake-related shutdowns, Executive Vice President Atsushi Niimi said last week. The company is unlikely to meet its full-year global production target of 7.7 million vehicles, he said.
About 150 parts, mostly materials such as rubber and plastics, are still in critically short supply, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said last week.
While Toyota has increased local procurement rates for overseas production, investigations since the quake have shown that many second- and third-tier components still come from Japan, Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki said last week. Toyota may ask tier-one suppliers to raise their own local procurement rates to reduce their reliance on Japan, he said.
Toyota made 7.34 million vehicles in the fiscal year ended March 31, an increase of 0.9 percent from the previous 12 months, the company said.
Honda's March output fell 19 percent to 282,254 vehicles.
Production in Japan plunged 63 percent to 129,491 vehicles, the company said in a statement yesterday. Exports declined 33 percent to 107,751.
Toyota, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co are working to restore full operations after last month's 9.0 magnitude temblor and tsunami damaged factories and caused parts and power shortages. Toyota's lead over General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG, the second and third-largest car makers, may be narrowed this year as the Japanese company expects production may not return to normal until December.
"Japanese car makers' biggest problem is that they want to keep core technology for key components in Japan," said John Zeng, a Shanghai-based analyst for researcher J.D. Power & Associates. Those components include computer chips and key engine parts, he said.
Renesas Electronics Corp, a chip maker that has 30 percent of the world market for microcontrollers used in cars, said April 22 it will restart production at a damaged factory on June 15, prompting Toyota to say production will return to normal levels by December at the latest.
Toyota may lose production of 300,000 vehicles in Japan and 100,000 overseas through the end of April due to quake-related shutdowns, Executive Vice President Atsushi Niimi said last week. The company is unlikely to meet its full-year global production target of 7.7 million vehicles, he said.
About 150 parts, mostly materials such as rubber and plastics, are still in critically short supply, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said last week.
While Toyota has increased local procurement rates for overseas production, investigations since the quake have shown that many second- and third-tier components still come from Japan, Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki said last week. Toyota may ask tier-one suppliers to raise their own local procurement rates to reduce their reliance on Japan, he said.
Toyota made 7.34 million vehicles in the fiscal year ended March 31, an increase of 0.9 percent from the previous 12 months, the company said.
Honda's March output fell 19 percent to 282,254 vehicles.
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