Toyota’s North American production to return to normal levels in September

Toyota Motor Corp. announced that by September, production of all vehicles in North American will go back to normal levels. The March 11 earthquake in Japan had resulted to the depletion of inventories. According to U.S. sales records through May, this figure represents about 68% of the total sales volume in the U.S. of all of its brands. In a statement, Toyota said that 32% stems from Japan and that exports will be at full volume starting November.

Toyota has 12 models built in North America, eight of which have resumed full output capacity on June 6, according to Autonews. These models are the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, Sequoia, Sienna and Venza. The other four models – the Toyota RAV4, Tacoma and Tundra and the Lexus RX 350 – still have reduced production due to the lingering effects of the Japan disaster.

In the statement, Steve St. Angelo, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, said that after September, it will then concentrate to make up for the lost production as much as they could. Toyota’s North American production capacity is expected to remain at over 80% on average through August, from 70% last May. Currently, Toyota’s global production is presently operating at roughly 70%. St. Angelo said that its team members and suppliers in North America as well as in Japan have “worked tirelessly” to get production back to normal. He described its efforts in Japan to be “incredible” amid the devastation. [via - 4wheelsnews]

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