Toyota cuts production by 40% in September due to lack of chips

Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported Thursday that Toyota Motor Corp. will reduce September’s global production by 40% from its previous plan, due to the global semiconductor shortage.

The automaker aimed to produce just under 900,000 cars, but reduced that figure to around 500,000, according to the report.

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases has disrupted the supply and production of auto parts, exacerbating the month-long chip crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker by sales volume, said it was facing an unpredictable business environment due to new cases of COVID-19 in emerging countries, shortages of semi -conductors and rising commodity prices.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it would temporarily shut down its Kansas City assembly plant that makes its best-selling F-150 pickups, due to a shortage of a semiconductor-related component caused by the spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia.

The second-largest U.S. automaker said the week-long shutdown will begin on August 23.