TOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Toyota said on Tuesday it
expects to miss its annual 9 million vehicle production target
because competition for semiconductors meant it didn't have
enough to ramp up car output to offset production lost during
the pandemic last year.
"Hitting the 9 million mark is going to be extremely
difficult," Kazunari Kamakura, an executive at the world's
biggest car maker, said during an online briefing. Toyota, he
added, could not predict how long the chip shortage would last.
Toyota and other automakers have been forced to curb
production even as demand in key markets such as China has
rebounded. In addition to tackling chip shortages caused by
COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions, car makers also have had to
contend with soaring semiconductor demand at consumer electronic
companies.
The surge in Omicron infections did not factor into the
latest production outlook, but it is, nonetheless, a concern for
Toyota, Kamakura said. Toyota's business year runs from April to
March.
COVID-19 lockdown restrictions last year disrupted supplies
of components from plants in Southeast Asia.
The maker of the Corolla compact sedan said it will build
700,000 cars globally in February, more than last year, but
150,000 fewer than it had initially planned.
To reach its annual 9 million production target, set in
September, Toyota would have to build 1 million vehicles in
March.
In North America, Toyota forecasts a reduction of about
25,000 to 30,000 vehicles in February.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Kirsten Donovan,
Muralikumar Anantharaman and Louise Heavens)