TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp plans to slash production in North America by nearly a third through October due to the coronavirus crisis and expects it will take some time for output to return to normal, a person familiar with the matter said.
Toyota will build about 800,000 vehicles, including its RAV4 crossovers and Camry sedans, at plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico from April through to the end of October, the person told Reuters.
That's down 29 percent from the Japanese automaker's output in the same seven months of 2019 and 32 percent lower than its forecast in January for production during the period.
The source declined to be identified because the information is not public.
A Toyota spokeswoman declined to comment on production plans.
The drop in Toyota's production highlights the pain for automakers around the world due to the fallout from the virus. Besides weak demand, problems with procurement and social…