Toyota Motor Corp recorded a 6.7% drop in worldwide sales after it missed its already downgraded global production target for the month of May. The Japanese car manufacturer fell short for the third consecutive month owing to China’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
In its latest report, Toyota said it produced 634,940 vehicles globally last month. This is a 5.3% decline from the same month in 2021 and short of its 700,000 targets. In mid-April, the carmaker planned to produce 750,000 vehicles in May. However, it lowered the number by 50,000 because of COVID-19 containment measures in Shanghai. Domestic production fell 28.5% in May but rose 4.6% in the foreign markets.
Europe recorded increased production as the region wasn’t hit hard by the chip shortage. Thailand and Indonesia also recorded a spike in production. However, these increases haven’t done much to Toyota’s May figure. Questions are being asked about whether the company would be able to meet its global production target for the year ending March.
Toyota has not changed its target of a record 9.7 million vehicles. But it highlighted that its production plan may be lower due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage and the spread of the coronavirus. Toyota’s global production averaged 713,172 vehicles a month, from January – May, 9.7% below its cumulative initial monthly average forecast of 790,000 units.
