TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp has cancelled some orders of the Harrier sports utility vehicle due to production disruption caused by the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Customers are being asked to switch their orders to the improved Harrier, which is scheduled to be released in September, the report said.

Toyota is considering that the company and its dealers cover the difference, since the price of a newer model is likely to cost 100,000 yen ($733.35) or so more, according to the report. The automaker has disclosed neither the price nor the improved function of the newer model.

It is believed to be the first time that an order received by Toyota has been scrapped due to an issue at the carmaker issue, the report said, citing multiple unnamed dealers.

About 74,000 units of Harrier were sold domestically last calendar year, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

Toyota had no immediate comment.

The report comes as Toyota struggles to shrug off the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns and global semiconductor shortage, straining its supply chain and cutting back vehicle production.

Toyota said last week its global production plan would be about 18% fewer than the plan it had told its suppliers at the beginning of the year. Toyota said earlier this month it was forced to stop taking orders of the Land Cruiser SUV because orders exceeded its production capacity.

Reuters