Toyota optimistic about getting back to pre-disaster production levels

Keisuke Kirimoto, company spokesman with Toyota Motor Corp., says that the company’s production in Japan will recover to 90% of pre-disaster levels in June.  This is a much quicker recovery that projected by Toyota in earlier estimates.  The earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan had damaged the plants of key auto parts suppliers which caused delays in production at all Japanese automakers. Toyota had reported that by the end of May, the company had lost the production of 550,000 vehicles in Japan and 350,000 overseas. In the United States, Toyota is also optimistic about a fast return to approximately 70% of normal production in June.  There will still be delays for customers waiting for the new Prius due to shortages of the lithium ion battery used in production. Japanese automakers are also still dealing with power shortages in Japan due to continuing problems with nuclear power plants in the affected areas. (May 31, 2011)