Toyota’s China JV reportedly cuts production, sees growing competition

FAW-Toyota, the joint venture between Toyota and China’s FAW Group, will further reduce production in three months from December following output cuts during the previous two months, as part of its measures to mitigate the pressure on the operations of local dealerships. According to a letter circulated Tuesday, the automaker told partners on Nov. 3 that the vehicle allocation, which refers to the number of cars assigned to a franchise holder, will be adjusted to 66,000, 60,000, and 38,000 units from December to February accordingly. It also called on dealerships in the letter to “make the most of it” as the year-end peak season approaches, despite the market being in a slow gear. A sales employee told Chinese financial media outlet Jiemian that some car dealers are facing a heavier inventory of unsold vehicles in their lots, especially in the Chinese second and third-tier cities such as Jinan, as sales remain weak after the pandemic. [Jiemian, in Chinese]