TOKYO: Toyota said on Wednesday it will reduce auto production at its Chinese plants by 50-70 percent until June 3, citing a parts shortage after Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster.
As a result of the March 11 calamity, Toyota said "it has decided that vehicle production in China will be carried out at 30 percent to 50 percent of normal from April 21 through June 3 due to parts supply difficulties."
A Toyota spokesman in Japan said the slowdown would bring a production shortfall of about 80,000 vehicles during the period.
Toyota has previously announced production disruptions domestically and in the United States, European Union and Australia because of the crisis.
The China slowdown starts Thursday, and "a decision on production after June 3 will depend on the parts-supply situation," said Toyota in a statement.
Many key component manufacturers in Japan are based in the worst-hit northeastern regions, their facilities damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake or inundated by the giant wave that followed.
The impact has been acute for automakers the world over, with several companies shutting plants or slowing production as far afield as Britain, the United States, Turkey, France, Australia, Poland and the Philippines.
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