Toyota Motor Group announced a 9% year-on-year decline in global vehicle production to 816,601 units in April, driven lower mainly by the continuing plunge in output at its small car division Daihatsu Motor following the safety test cover-up scandal which came to light last December.

Global Toyota and Lexus output was down by 4% at 756,254 units, reflecting mainly an 8% drop in output in Japan to 251,485 units following the global recall of the Prius hybrid passenger car, while overseas production fell by 2% to 504,769 units. Cumulative four-month output was down by 5% at 3,040,784 units. The automaker plans to restart Prius production in mid-June, saying it had secured enough parts to fix the problem.

Daihatsu production worldwide plunged by a further 51% to 46,930 units in April, with output in Japan down by 69% at 21,317 units, while cumulative global output was down by 60% at 190,600 units. The company announced in early May that it had been allowed to resume full production at its domestic plants, with the company looking to reduce order backlogs in the coming months.

Hino Motor’s global production rebounded by 16% to 13,47 units in April, resulting in a 16% drop to 48,263 units year-to-date – with output also affected by emissions testing irregularities at diesel engine supplier Toyota Motor Industries Corporation.

The group’s overall global vehicle production was down by over 10% at 3,279,847 units in the first four months of the year.