Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its domestic output in May fell 28.5 percent from a year earlier to 144,204 vehicles, declining for the third straight month, due to a global chip shortage and a parts supply crunch caused by a COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai.

The rate of decline was the biggest since January, when domestic output fell 32.2 percent from the previous year, the major Japanese automaker said.

Toyota had to suspend operations at some of its factories in Japan because the lockdown had made it difficult to procure parts.

Toyota said its global output in May fell 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 634,940 units, falling short of its production target of about 700,000 vehicles, after its production in South Africa was affected by flooding.

Although the Shanghai lockdown was lifted on June 1, Toyota's production continues to be affected by the strain on parts supply from the Chinese city.

==Kyodo

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