Toyota to Roll Back Output Cuts in May

Toyota Motor plans to boost production in Japan by about 30 percent in May compared with average output of the three preceding months as it makes progress in cutting inventory levels, the Nikkei business daily reported.

But the planned output of 200,000 units would still be down by about 40 percent from a year earlier, and a full-scale recovery in production is not expected soon, the Nikkei said.

Toyota plans to tell its auto parts suppliers soon of its plans, the Nikkei said without citing sources, adding that the output plan could change depending on global vehicle demand.

The Nikkei said Toyota would halt output for about three days in April, after planned production holidays on a total 14 days in January-March at its domestic factories. There will be no stoppage in May, the paper said.

A company spokesman said production plans for April and beyond had not been decided yet.

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But Toyota had said earlier this month that production levels would hit bottom in January-March, when it planned to work down inventory of about 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles. A company official said at the time inventory and production levels should only return to healthy levels "by the time it gets warm".

Toyota exports more than 60 percent of its vehicles produced in Japan.

Shares of Toyota ended the morning session up 2.3 percent at 3,080 yen, roughly in line with gains in other Japanese auto stocks but outperforming the Topix index, which lost 0.9 percent.

Toyota is on track to post an operating loss of some 450 billion yen ($4.87 billion) for the year to March 31, the first groupwide operating loss in its 70-year history.

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