The Toyota brand has long been aligned with hybrid technology, which is why it wasn’t exactly surprising when the company decided to ride out the all-electric wave by continuing to focus on its hybrid-electric line.
It’s a move that’s paid off for the Japanese automaker, as hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid sales in the U.S. combined to hit a record high in the third quarter of 2024, exceeding 12% of total light duty vehicle sales.
Meanwhile, global sales hit their own records – and with it, has come something of an inventory problem for Toyota.
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Reuters is reporting that Toyota’s hybrid models are in such high demand that parts shortages have led to monthslong delays – or worse.
One buyer in India is said to have submitted his order for the regionally available Toyota Innova Hycross SUV in January 2023. After many delays, he was again told last month the vehicle would take months longer to arrive; the customer reportedly moved on.
At issue, according to Reuters, are bottlenecks in Toyota’s hybrid vehicle supply chain.
They say a shortage of magnets supplied to Toyota’s Aisin Corp component manufacturer, has triggered a hybrid motor delay.
Not to mention, inverters supplied by Denso – a manufacturer of which Toyota is the partial owner – are reportedly being impacted by bottlenecks at its own tier 2 and 3 suppliers.
And while the example in India is perhaps an outlier, Carscoops says, generally, two to nine months is the typical wait time there. In Japan, they say Toyota hybrids take two to five months to get and, in Europe, wait times have doubled since 2020, to an average of 60 or 70 days.
Toyota has downplayed the claim that it is struggling to keep up with demand, saying that despite hybrid sales being up significantly in all regions “the production capacity for hybrid parts and components from our suppliers and our in-house parts manufacturing is in line with our annual production plans and our vehicle assembly capacity.”
According to Carscoops, one change may at least ease the supply crunch for US buyers: Toyota says it is expanding operations in a North Carolina plant, and will begin shipping more batteries there this month, set to be used in its range of electrified vehicles.
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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0
00:00.009 --> 00:03.000
The Toyota brand has long been aligned with
hybrid technology,
00:03.109 --> 00:07.000
which is why it wasn't exactly surprising when
the company decided to ride out the
00:07.000 --> 00:10.529
all-electric wave by continuing to focus on its
hybrid electric line.
00:10.670 --> 00:14.840
It's a move that's paid off for the Japanese
automaker as hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid
00:14.840 --> 00:19.270
sales in the US combined to hit a record high
in the 3rd quarter of 2024,
00:19.440 --> 00:22.350
exceeding 12% of total light duty vehicle sales.
00:22.559 --> 00:27.746
Meanwhile, global sales hit their own records.
And with it has come something of an inventory
00:27.746 --> 00:30.545
problem for Toyota.
Reuters is reporting that Toyota's hybrid
00:30.545 --> 00:36.386
models are in such high demand that parts
shortages have led to months-long delays or
00:36.386 --> 00:39.425
worse.
One buyer in India is said to have submitted
00:39.425 --> 00:45.736
his order for the regionally available Toyota
Enova High Cross SUV in January of 2023.
00:45.866 --> 00:49.425
After many delays, he was again told last month,
the vehicle.
00:49.501 --> 00:51.361
It would take months longer to arrive.
00:51.731 --> 00:53.641
The customer reportedly moved on.
00:53.852 --> 00:58.492
At issue, according to Reuters, are bottlenecks
in Toyota's hybrid vehicle supply chain.
00:58.692 --> 01:03.692
They say a shortage of magnets supplied by
Toyota's Ain Corp component manufacturer has
01:03.692 --> 01:07.921
triggered a hybrid motor delay, not to mention
inverters supplied by Denso,
01:08.132 --> 01:12.421
a manufacturer of which Toyota is the partial
owner, are reportedly being impacted by
01:12.421 --> 01:15.547
bottlenecks at its own tier.
2 and 3 suppliers.
01:15.718 --> 01:20.148
And while the example in India is perhaps an
outlier, Car Scoop says generally,
01:20.438 --> 01:23.477
2 to 9 months is the typical wait time there.
In Japan,
01:23.557 --> 01:27.508
they say Toyota hybrids take 2 to 5 months to
get, and in Europe,
01:27.758 --> 01:32.148
wait times have doubled since 2020 to an
average of 60 or 70 days.
01:32.277 --> 01:35.508
Toyota has downplayed the claim that it is
struggling to keep up with demand,
01:35.758 --> 01:38.917
saying that despite hybrid sales being up
significantly in all regions,
01:39.414 --> 01:43.704
The production capacity for hybrid parts and
components from its suppliers and its in-house
01:43.704 --> 01:49.083
parts manufacturing is in line with its annual
production plans and vehicle assembly capacity.
01:49.223 --> 01:54.134
According to car scoops, one change may at
least ease the supply crunch for US buyers.
01:54.353 --> 01:58.624
Toyota says it's expanding operations in a
North Carolina plant and will begin shipping
01:58.624 --> 02:03.603
more batteries there this month, set to be used
in its range of electrified vehicles.
02:03.984 --> 02:05.984
I'm Anna Wells, and this is Manufacturing now.
