Toyota to Boost Domestic Output to 15,000 Units A Day

Toyota Motor plans to raise domestic daily output to 15,000 units by March, up from its current level of 12,000 units. The company has not reached that level of production since December of 2009 when the third model of the Prius hybrid became an unexpected best-seller.

The output boost is intended to let the company benefit from vehicle purchase tax incentives and vehicle weight tax deductions set to expire, respectively, in March and April of 2012.

Toyota’s domestic daily output had sank to a record-low 2,600 units in April in the wake of the March 11 quake and tsunami which disrupted shipments from its network of parts suppliers. The company is still working to clear out the resulting order backlog, and plans to hire more seasonal workers and extend overtime hours.

Another impediment to full production had been the idling of nuclear power plants which created a national power shortage. In order to need to conserve electricity during peak air-conditioning months of July and August, Toyota had substituted weekend production in place of operations on Thursdays and Fridays. In September, however, its plants will boost operations to every day except Friday.

To further boost output, in November Toyota will begin to manufacture a small hybrid car at its subsidiary Kanto Auto Works Ltd.‘s Iwate plant in Kanegasaki, Iwate Prefecture.