Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its global production for April fell 4.0 percent from a year earlier to 756,254 vehicles, marking the third straight month of decline, as the automaker halted production of the Prius hybrid car due to a recall.
Domestic production dropped 7.9 percent to 251,485 units as Toyota announced production of the popular gasoline-electric vehicle will be halted until it can resolve a door handle issue.
The Japanese automaker said earlier this month it will restart production of the Prius in mid-June as it has secured enough parts to fix the problem.
A halt caused by an unscheduled inspection of its minivan production line also contributed to the decline in total output.
Production outside of Japan fell 1.9 percent to 504,769 cars, as the rise in North America failed to make up for a drop in China, which logged a 24.9 percent decrease due to increased competition.
Global sales inched down 0.5 percent to 797,097 units as robust results in North America and Europe were offset by weaker sales in China and Japan.
Sales in Japan fell 13.9 percent to 107,947 cars, impacted by the production halts. Overseas sales rose 2.0 percent to 689,150 units.
