Right-hand drive Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series production for Australia will get back underway in Japan from November, the company confirmed this week as expected.
Based on latest projections more all-new LandCruisers will roll into dealers during December, though probably not in anywhere near the sort numbers needed to satisfy the growing bank of buyers just yet.
As we reported in more detail here, Toyota’s global production has been hit by the semiconductor crunch (despite stockpiling) and COVID-19 shutdowns, leading to stock shortages and wait lists on most core models. Toyota is far from alone here.
MORE: Staggering impact of semiconductor shortage on car industry revealed
The company has, however, repeatedly expressed confidence that better supply will start hitting showrooms during 2022 and nothing has changed on this front.
“We are optimistic that the all-new LandCruiser will start arriving at local dealerships in Australia in December, with retail launch timing to be confirmed,” Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley said.
That last bit is where things get a little opaque, because to my mind it implies that the December stock will either satisfy existing orders or become test vehicles.
MORE: Toyota Australia says sorry for ‘frustrating’ wait times
“Together with our parent company, we are doing everything we can to get customers into their new Toyota vehicles as soon as possible, whether it’s the all-new LandCruiser or any other model that is in high demand,” Mr Hanley added.
Toyota Motor Corp. is now telling its regions that it aims to build between 850,000 and 900,000 vehicles across all models next month – compared with a November record of 830,000 vehicles produced last year.
The carmaker said it had been striving to expand November production in Japan to one million vehicles to recover previous production shortfalls; but determined that such a level was not yet possible.
However the global production forecast for the Japanese fiscal year to 31 March 2022 remains unchanged at around nine million units, the company says.
Mr Hanley added that TMC in Japan had also advised production of HiLux and Fortuner in Thailand “would be impacted during November”, although supply is projected to improve “substantially” in December.
Whether it’s enough keep to HiLux number-one in the sales race against a rampant Ford Ranger remains to be seen…
“As the availability of supply is an evolving situation around the world, we are continuing to work closely with our global production team to secure the maximum possible number of vehicles for our customers,” he said.
“We apologise to customers experiencing delays and we sincerely thank them for their patience. We ask our customers to please contact their local dealer for updates on the status of their individual orders.”
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