Toyota had a backlog of around 1 million vehicles following the Covid-19 pandemic

Toyota is restricting sales of many of its popular models in Japan as a result of ongoing production backlogs it is trying to overcome.

Dealerships have revealed that Toyota is no longer accepting orders for the Alphard as of mid-November. Additionally, Toyota has stopped taking orders for the 300-series Land Cruiser and in September, new orders were no longer being accepted for the Aqua.

Nikkei Asia reports that dealerships across the country are already feeling the effects. Out of the seven months between April and October, Toyota dealers reported sales increases in only two of these months. Three main reasons are thought to explain the scenario Toyota currently finds itself in.

For starters, demand appears to be exceeding production capacity. The carmaker recently raised its fiscal 2023 domestic production forecast by 90,000 units from an initial forecast of 3.34 million in response to strong demand for its vehicles.

Toyota also has a large backlog of orders to work through. While production fell significantly due to chip shortages triggered during the Covid-19 pandemic, Toyota continued to accept orders and had a backlog of roughly 1 million vehicles at one stage.

Changes made to its sales channels are also partly responsible. Before 2020, Toyota dealerships in Japan were split into four categories and could only sell certain vehicles in these categories. Now, any Toyota model can be purchased from any dealership, a change that prompted a “rush of orders for some popular models,” a dealership executive says.

Things appear to be improving, albeit slowly. The average lead time for vehicle delivery has fallen from around six months at the end of 2022 to a touch under five months now. Nikkei Asia notes that some sources believe this will decrease to around four months by next spring.