Japan’s big three cut production by at least 30 per cent
No one is spared by the worsening global economic situation, even big boys Toyota, Honda and Nissan are forced to reduce their output to match declining demand.
Of the big three, Honda had to make the smallest reduction, cutting production by 33 per cent.
Toyota is a close second with production shrink of 39.1 per cent
Meanwhile Nissan more than halved their January output, producing 54 per cent less vehicles in the first month of the year.
Read on for all the gory details
Toyota Motor said worldwide production in January 2009, including Toyota, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles, declined 39.1% from last year to 487,984 units. While overseas production dropped 44.2% to 210,512 units, production in Japan declined 34.6% to 277,472 units.
Worldwide production of Toyota vehicles declined 42.6% to 413,285 vehicles. Overseas production of Toyota vehicles dropped 44.8% to 204,061 vehicles.
The company’s total sales in Japan for January dropped 17.1% to 130,781 units, while total exports plunged 57.1% to 96,864 units. Export of passenger cars declined 59.8%, while export of trucks & buses dropped 34.2% in the month.
Honda Motor reported a 33.5% decline in worldwide production for January 2009 at 226,551 units, its third consecutive monthly production decline, while production dropped 23% in Japan and 37.9% outside Japan. Production in North America dropped 45.5%, while in Europe, the reduction was 50.8%. Asia witnessed a production drop of 20.1%.
The company’s production in Japan stood at 77,224 units, a year-on-year decrease for the third month in a row. Production in regions outside of Japan decreased for the fourth consecutive month to 149,327 units.
Honda, which earlier in the week named Takanobu Ito as the new chief executive, said its total exports from Japan in January 2009 declined 46.3% to 32,934 units. Japan domestic market total sales for Honda Brand was 34,160 units, down 23.4% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY) said its global production in January decreased 54.0% year-on-year to 145,286 units. While production in Japan decreased 59.0% year-on-year to 47,477 units, production outside of Japan declined 51.2% to 97,809 units.
Nissan said its global sales decreased 26.6% to 227,769 units in January, while total exports from Japan decreased 62.1% to 27,578 units.
Hit by the global recession, automakers worldwide are facing severe pressure. Demand in the U.S., the major auto market in the world, has been plunging, due to weak consumer confidence, a change in buying patterns and much reduced availability of auto finance loans. Vehicle manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs, including closure of plants, job cuts and reduction in production.
That is a shame, with the low consumption and the difficulties for lending money, this is not going to change in the near future.
why is it that of all the production cut, no mention on their inventory, and other measures in shoring up sales? rather than merely cutting cost, why can’t they lower the product margin for existing model, when the times are good introduce new model to shore up their margin again? there must be other ways in rescueing their book, rather than sorting to job cuts, plant closure.
They could start selling at a discount and using the cars as parts…
Dun see like Honda Malaysia is making any losses or experiencing poor sales. The new Honda City has a 3-6 month waiting list, Accord, Civic and CRV in the same boat. Why are they always looking towards North America who dun give a shit about Japanese cars but ignore people in Asia who are buying their expensive car in droves. Not glamour enough to sell to the neighbours? Need to sell in Amereeka or Urope at low prices to justify production? If they cut their prices more, they would be able to move their stock in Asia alone.