Toyota Motor on Tuesday (10 May, 2011) denied a report its output would return to pre-quake levels two or three months earlier than expected but said it would try to resume normal production as soon as possible.
The Nikkei newspaper report briefly sent Toyota shares more than 3% higher, helping lift overall sentiment in the Tokyo stock market but, according to Reuters, the automaker said after trading closed it still expects output to normalise by November or December, as announced late in April.
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Toyota’s domestic factories are back online but are working at volumes equivalent to half of the company’s original plans and at an average 40% outside Japan. It plans to gradually lift production from July in Japan and around August overseas, the media reports said.
Analysts have said Toyota is almost sure to lose its title as world’s largest automaker to GM, and is vying for the second slot against Volkswagen.
Honda Motor, Japan’s third largest automaker, has also said it would take until the end of the year before production returns to normal.
Renesas Electronics, a major supplier of chips to the auto industry, said last month it would resume operations at a damaged factory north of Tokyo on 15 June and analysts have said that Toyota’s previously announced plan may be conservative, Reuters noted.
