2021 should have represented the year of the restart for the automotive sector, plagued by Covid in 2020. Instead, first the production of semiconductors not adequate to the demand, then, in recent months, the explosion of the Delta variant in Southeast Asia, have put a serious mortgage on the success of the rebound. So much so that the first decline in a year was recorded for Toyota’s global production, precisely due to the repercussions caused by the pandemic (with the new lockdowns and the closure of plants) and the shortage of microchips, mainly produced in Asia.
In August, the Japanese group’s output fell by 16.2%, to just under 531,500 units. A figure that anticipated the announcement of a reduction in production for the months of September and October, thus reducing the prospects of an acceleration in sales for the entire four-wheeler sector, particularly in the key markets of China and the United States. where, on the other hand, there is a recovery in demand.
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Toyota in mid-May had estimated that the production of the current year would return above 10 million units (10.6) and had launched a buyback of 250 billion yen (2.3 billion dollars), expecting to return pre-pandemic profitability in the current fiscal year. The picture has then definitely changed.
The number one group in the world has already cut its production estimates of 300,000 vehicles for the entire fiscal year, to 9 million units compared to 10.7 million in pre-pandemic 2019 and 9.2 million in 2020. production for the Japanese house could be lower than that of the year in which Covid exploded. The countries of Southeast Asia represent a fundamental hub for Toyota’s manufacturing process, and the recent closures of plants in Malaysia and Vietnam, due to Covid, have complicated procurement for the related industries with serious repercussions on the production chain.
In August, overseas production of Toyota-branded vehicles fell by 19.9%, while at the domestic level the decline was 8.4%. The Japanese company expects output to halve in September, and a 40% drop in October, compared to previous estimates. The impact of production cuts on global turnover will be more evident in the months to come.