Toyota Motor Corp. plans to rev up global production to a record 11 million vehicles in the next fiscal year beginning in April, up 22 percent from the volume projected earlier for the current fiscal year, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The production plan compares with 9 million vehicles projected in September for the year through March 2022. But it is unclear whether the automaker can proceed with output as planned, as the projection assumes that a global semiconductor shortage caused amid the coronavirus pandemic will be resolved and the coronavirus pandemic will come under control, the sources said.
The world's No. 1 automaker by volume initially planned to produce about 9.3 million of its Toyota and upscale Lexus brand vehicles for the year through March 2022. But it revised downward its global output projection in September to 9 million vehicles due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia that led to factory shutdowns.
Earlier this month, the carmaker said the global volume will most likely fall behind the 9 million vehicles after cutting its output for February by around 150,000 vehicles because of an ongoing semiconductor shortage.
In fiscal 2020, Toyota's production stood at 8.18 million units.
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