Tokyo: Combined vehicle production in Japan by eight major domestic automakers in April-September grew 18.9 percent from a year before to 4.15 million units, data from the companies showed Monday.

The rise reflected a recovery in vehicle demand in line with the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic and an improvement in semiconductor supplies.

Still, the combined vehicle output in the first half of fiscal 2023 did not reach the 4.58 million units produced in the first half of fiscal 2019, before the novel coronavirus crisis.

In the latest six-month period, Toyota Motor Corp.’s domestic production jumped 31.5 percent to 1.69 million units, chiefly led by strong sales of the Corolla.

Output grew at seven of the eight automakers, except for Daihatsu Motor Co., which was hit by a fire at one of its parts suppliers.

Five of the eight makers logged growth in their overseas production, including Subaru Corp., whose output grew 21.2 percent thanks to the strong demand in North America and Canada, and Mazda Motor Corp., which enjoyed strong demand for the Mazda3 compact car.

By contrast, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. saw its overseas production fall 8.5 percent due to a slump in China. Suzuki Motor Corp.’s overseas output fell 2.1 percent due to a production decline in Pakistan.

Still, the combined overseas output of the eight makers rose 2.6 percent to 8.48 million units. Their combined global output grew 7.4 percent to 12.63 million units.

In September alone, their domestic production jumped 13 percent, and their global output rose 2.3 percent.

JIJI Press