Toyota expects its global production back to normal by year-end******

TOKYO, April 22 (Agencies): Toyota said it expects global production to ramp up again by mid-year and return to normal by the end of 2011 after Japan's quake-tsunami disaster caused auto parts shortages. Many key component manufacturers in Japan are based in the worst-hit northeast regions, where facilities were damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11 or inundated by the giant wave that followed. Toyota has announced production disruptions domestically and in the United States, European Union, China and Australia because of the crisis, temporarily shutting some plants or running them at half-capacity or less. On Friday it said it would also cut output in Thailand. The world's biggest auto maker said in a statement that "global production will begin to ramp up as soon as July in Japan and August in North America, with all models back to normal production by November or December 2011". "To all the customers who made the decision to buy a vehicle made by us, I sincerely apologise for the enormous delay in delivery," said Toyota president Akio Toyoda at a news conference in Japan. Asked about the likely effect on the bottom line of the auto giant, Toyoda said only: "We have yet to comment on the impact on our profits. We want to tell you that at an appropriate time." Toyota ended General Motors' 77-year reign as the world's largest automaker in 2008, but since then the Japanese giant has faced the impact of the global economic crisis, a massive safety recall crisis and a strong yen. The company chief spoke about the impact of Japan's worst post-war disaster on the firm and the parts makers in its supply chain. "Immediately after the earthquake, Toyota, like others, sent its employees into the disaster zone to join forces with our plants, dealers and suppliers to take steps toward recovery," he said. "I too visited the affected areas several times. I saw people's efforts first hand, and I was filled with confidence that their hard work would make possible a quicker recovery of production." He pledged: "Our entire company is committed to solving the problems before us, so that we can achieve production recovery even one day sooner." Toyota's Japan plants are now working at 50 per cent of capacity and those in North America at 30 per cent because of parts supply shortages. The company said it plans to continue procuring parts from the same suppliers, but will also consider substitute parts from other firms. The auto maker said there are about new 150 parts now affecting new-vehicle production -- mainly electronic, rubber and paint-related. However, replacement parts for sales service and repair are available, it said. Meanwhile, Toyota today said it will reduce its production by up to 70 per cent in India between April 25 and June 4 due to supply constraints of components following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. On account of this measure there will be a production loss of about 7,000 units a month, translating into a revenue deficit of Rs 4.90 billion to its Indian entity -- Toyota Kirloskar Motor. "This production adjustment step is a temporary measure from April 25 to June 4...We will be losing about 7,000 units per month," Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh told PTI. Under the plan, production at TKM's two plants in Bangalore will be suspended Mondays and Fridays during the nearly one-and-half month period. The company will operate about 30 per cent of its normal capacity of 11,000 units a month during this period, he added. TKM currently manufactures models like sedan Etios, multi utility vehicle Innova, premium sedan Corolla Altis and SUV Fortuner in India. On the impact of the temporary production cut on waiting period of vehicles, Singh said: "We are having waiting periods for all our models and it ranges from one month to three months. After this production cut, it will increase by an another month." At present, the waiting periods for Etios and Innova are two to three months each, while that of Fortuner and Corolla Altis are three months and one month respectively, he added.