Toyota factories struggling: Company to import cars from Taiwan to Japan for the first time

Toyota is beginning production of key passenger vehicles for the Japanese domestic market in Taiwan. A dedicated production line is being established there, with exports of finished products to Japan set to begin in October of this year. This marks the first time in Toyota's history that it has opened an overseas line for its core models to re-import them back to Japan. This was reported by Ixbt.com reports .

The new models to be produced in Taiwan are the closely related Noah and Voxy minivans. Each of these models sells between 70,000 and 80,000 units annually in Japan and ranks among the brand's best-selling vehicles. Currently, demand for these cars is extremely high, with delivery times sometimes exceeding a year, and there have even been instances of order cancellations.

Toyota management plans to produce 100,000 vehicles per year at a joint venture in northern Taiwan through new investments and the modernization of existing equipment. This volume accounts for nearly 70 percent of the total sales of Noah and Voxy models in Japan. Meanwhile, factories within Japan will continue to operate at full capacity.

The company's president described the current delivery delays as an "abnormal and critical situation." He believes that long wait times could cause customers to switch to other automakers. Currently, Toyota holds over 50 percent of the Japanese passenger car market and aims to produce 3.27 million vehicles domestically by 2025.

As a reminder, Honda was previously the first Japanese brand to implement the practice of re-importing electric vehicles to Japan from abroad. Toyota hopes to alleviate domestic market shortages through this strategy as well.