TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it plans to cut production capacity at one of its factories in Japan.
The company will suspend production at one of two lines at a factory in central Aichi prefecture from Spring of next year until the second half of 2011, lowering its overall capacity by 220,000 vehicles, spokesman Paul Nolasco said.
Toyota currently has the ability to produce about 10 million vehicles annually. But that is far more than it will need this year -- the company plans to cut its global output to 6.68 million vehicles in 2009, a 28 percent cut from the 9.24 million it produced last year.
This has led to speculation that it will suspend or close factories.
On Wednesday, broadcaster NHK reported that the company would slash capacity by about 700,000 vehicles, while the Nikkei business newspaper said it would cut capacity by one million vehicles.
Both said the cuts would come from suspending operations in domestic and foreign plants, and didn't say where the information came from.
Nolasco said the company had no comment on overall production capacity.
Toyota has been re-examining its global strategy after reporting its worst-ever loss for the fiscal year ended in March.
