Toyota to cut output after eco-car subsidy expires

Di Malaysia running 200% - over capacity. Sapa kata ekonomi Malaysia meleset?

Toyota Motor will cut output in Japan by about 20 percent in October. The automaker is expecting a drop in domestic sales after government subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles expire at the end of September.

Industry sources say Toyota has notified its parts suppliers of the planned reduction. The company will produce about 11,000 vehicles a day in October, down 3,000 units from the previous month.

The financial crisis forced Toyota to slash its daily output to as low as 8,000 units in March last year. That's below the break-even quota of 12,000 cars a day. However, the subsidies helped boost demand for the automaker's mainstay hybrid models.

Toyota has been setting up assembly plants overseas to serve strong growth markets locally. But, it faces an uphill battle in Japan, where the auto market will likely remain sluggish for some time.