Domestic production at Toyota fell 38% in the first half of the year due to the impact of the March earthquake and tsunami although the company is is recovering more quickly than expected.
Domestic sales slipped 41% in the six months to June to 500,638 units after the disaster crippled production and supply lines as electricity generating facilities failed.
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Amid the power and parts shortages, carmakers slowed output or closed factories temporarily in Japan and abroad amid a shortage of key parts.
Since then production has returned to a recovery path. Toyota said it produced 249,660 units domestically in June, or 84.1% of production levels at the same time a year ago, compared with 21.6% in April and around 70% in May.
Its overseas production stood at 344,179 units in June, 96.4% of the same month last year.
Last month, Toyota said it expected domestic output – excluding subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino – to return to about 90% of pre-quake levels in June thanks to a faster than expected recovery of parts supplies.
Nissan reported that domestic production decreased 18.3% year-on-year to 449,492 units but that global production in January-June increased 11.1% to 2,144,745 units, reaching a record high.
Honda saw a slump in June production with domestic output at around half of last year’s levels due to the residual effects of a shortage of electronic parts, rubber products and coating materials.
Mazda Japan output in June slipped just 2.3% in June to 80,114 units but was off over 20% to 356,791 in the first half. Overseas production rose 1.3% to 33,672 last month and 6.6% to 191,235 in the first half. Global output YTD was 548,026, down 12.6%.
Mitsubishi Motors said global production in June was 106,267 units, 15.1% up year on year. Production in Japan at 59,069 units was 8.1 percent up. Half-year output, at 585,526 units, rose 4.4%. Japan volume of 304,668 units was 0.6% down.
