Toyota Motor Corp. plans to cut back on production of China-bound vehicles as sales in the country plunge and inventories pile up in the face of the anti-Japan demonstrations over the Senkaku Islands dispute, company officials said Tuesday.
Toyota is set to reduce output at its Tahara plant in Aichi Prefecture and the Miyata plant run by a subsidiary in Fukuoka Prefecture. Both are production bases for its Lexus luxury brand models.
The automaker meanwhile resumed operations Monday at all nine of its plants in China for the first time in a week after partially suspending them, but with reduced output, the officials said.
Toyota's automobile sales in China have fallen about 30 percent compared with levels before the demonstrations.
The Miyata plant, operated by Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc., normally produces about 1,300 vehicles a day, including Lexus ES sedans for export, but its output will likely be cut by about 20 percent, the officials said.
Toyota had earlier targeted a boost in sales in China to 1 million units this year from about 900,000 in 2011.