Toyota Motor’s global production gallops with 11% increase in November

Toyota Motor's global production jumped 11 per cent in November to a record level, bouncing back from last year's supply chain disruptions and benefiting from robust demand both in Japan and overseas.

Output for November climbed to 926,573 vehicles, while worldwide sales increased 14 per cent from a year earlier when shortages of semiconductors plagued automakers globally. Both figures include Toyota's Lexus luxury brand.

Domestic sales for the month shot 27 per cent higher; sales in both the United States and China increased by 17 per cent, while those in Europe climbed 15 per cent.

The result puts the world's largest automaker on track for global sales of more than 10 million Toyota and Lexus-branded vehicles in 2023 - also a record. Around a third of the vehicles sold far this year have been gasoline-electric hybrids. 

Toyota Motor earlier this year announced that it is providing significant price reductions on the Hilux lifestyle vehicle, which is among its priciest cars in the Indian market, just three months after its release. The renowned Japanese automobile manufacturer is offering discounts and advantages valued at up to ₹8 lakh for potential buyers.

Earlier this year, Toyota Motor Corp said that it could make up to about 10.6 million vehicles in 2023, a figure that, if achieved, would easily beat its 2019 production record of 9.1 million units, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile Toyota Kirloskar Motor announced plans to invest ₹3,300 crore to set up its third plant at Bidadi in Karnataka. The new unit, which will commence production by 2026, will have an annual capacity of 1 lakh units in two shifts.

In another development, Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota, announced the suspension of shipments for all car models currently being produced, both domestically in Japan and internationally, reported AFP. This decision comes in response to recent disclosures regarding its manipulation of safety tests.

Reportedly, established earlier this year to examine a safety scandal initially revealed in April, the committee has identified additional irregularities. The investigation discovered new issues in 174 aspects across 25 test categories, supplementing the previously uncovered misconduct in April and May related to door components and side-collision tests, as stated by Toyota.

(With Inputs from Reuters)