Toyota Motor has stopped taking orders for its Harrier sports utility vehicle model [similar to the Venza models sold in the US and China – ed], a spokesman told Reuters, as output was delayed by pandemic-linked curbs and the semiconductor shortage.
The Nikkei business daily had reported earlier Toyota had cancelled “some” orders for the Harrier due to production disruptions caused by the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai.
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Customers were being asked to switch their orders to a newer Harrier scheduled to be released in September, the Nikkei report said.
The Toyota spokesman would not comment to Reuters on the plan, saying “customers and dealers are communicating one on one (on making alternative purchase).”
Toyota was considering the possibility of its dealers covering the price difference, since the newer model was likely to cost about JPY100,000 (US$733.35) more Reuters said, citing the Nikkei report
The automaker had disclosed neither the price nor the improvements of the newer model.
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By GlobalDataIt was believed to be the first time that an order received by Toyota has been scrapped due to an issue at the carmaker, the Nikkei report said, citing multiple unnamed dealers.
About 74,000 Harriers were sold locally last year, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
The report came as Toyota struggled to shrug off the impacts of COVID-19-related lockdowns and the semiconductor shortage, which have strained its supply chain and compelled it to cut back vehicle production.
Toyota said last week its global production plan for August would be scaled back by 18% from what it had told its suppliers at the beginning of the year.
Reuters noted Toyota had said earlier this month it was forced to stop taking orders of the Land Cruiser SUV because orders exceeded its production capacity.
