Toyota plans to cut production by 20% in Japan in April due to a serious shortage of chips and other materials.

A spokesman for Toyota said on Friday (March 11) that its domestic production would be up to 20% lower than previously planned in the three months from April to ease the pressure on suppliers caused by shortages of chips and other parts.

A Toyota spokesman said the production cuts were meant to lighten the burden on suppliers. Tight supply chains have led to severe shortages of chips and other materials, forcing suppliers to adapt to Toyota's ever-changing production plans.

Compared with previous plans, Toyota plans to cut domestic production by about 20% in April, 10% in May and 5% in June, the spokesman said.

Toyota hopes to review the risks of production plans three months in advance to ensure that suppliers will be able to steadily prepare equipment and personnel and give priority to safety and quality.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a meeting with union members on Wednesday that suppliers would be "exhausted" unless they had a "sound" production plan. "We hope to work with suppliers and distributors to overcome the current crisis situation."

Toyota said April to June would be a "deliberate cooling" period, with safety and quality becoming top priorities.

A company spokesman said the effort reflects Toyota's intention to share information with suppliers as soon as possible so that they can make their own production plans.

Toyota expects to produce a record 11 million vehicles in fiscal year 2022 as long as it ensures a steady supply of chips.

Toyota has shown relative resilience under the negative impact of the epidemic and has been trying to increase production to meet global demand for new cars. The company said last month that it planned to produce 950000 cars and trucks in March, up from 843393 in the same period last year.

Toyota production was also hit by a brief shutdown of all 14 factories in Japan earlier this month because of a virus attack on a supplier's computer system.