Toyota car deliveries in Australia are expected to be back to pre-earthquake levels as late as October, with some consumers expected to wait up to three months for their new car.
Ten thousand Toyota vehicles are currently waiting to be imported into Australia from the auto-maker’s US and Japan production plants.
Global Toyota operations have felt the flow-on effect from the tsunami and earthquake in Japan on 11 March, reporting supply issues, production cuts and redundancies for factory workers.
The Altona plant began operating at 50% capacity from 9 May to manage available parts supply from Japan.
Consumers who have ordered a Camry, Aurion or Hybrid Camry should expect delivery in the next few months with the manufacturer’s Altona plant expecting to be back to full production levels some time during the week of 6 June.
Toyota Australia will produce approximately 9,000 vehicles per month for both export and local markets.
HiLux deliveries will be back on-track in the coming months, with production in Thailand also expected to be back to pre-earthquake levels in June.
According to Toyota Australia media and communications manager, Laura Hill, this is the beginning of the “normalisation process” for Toyota globally.
“As time goes by we seem to be getting more confidence from Japan,” she told Manufacturers’ Monthly.
“Everything is expected to be back to normal from September or October.”
Toyota has been organising consumer focus groups to gauge the market’s response to the delays, with one attendee claiming the automobile manufacturer asked if incentives in the form of equipment upgrades would make the group more likely to buy from Toyota during this period.
Hill says consumers are very understanding and sympathetic to the issue.
“It’s a bit of a challenging time but we’re confident,” she said.