Written by Adity Shah and Norikiko Shiroso
New Delhi/Austin (Reuters)-The increasing demand for hybrids in the hybrid Toyota is left the PVs in Toyota suppliers struggling to keep pace, which led to a shortage of parts and waiting for months for car buyers, according to four people familiar with the situation.
Two people told Reuters that hybrid stocks are low in Toyota traders in the main markets, including the United States, Japan, China and Europe.
The increase in the demand is a challenge to Toyota, the dominant player in hybrid. But it also justifies the bet of the Japanese auto manufacturer on technology against predictions by some competitors that only electric cars for batteries will wipe the hybrid demand.
Hybrids global sales, including components models, have multiplied approximately three times to 16.1 million from 5.7 million over the past five years, according to data provided by LMC Automotive.
One person said on average from 60 to 70 days for the new hybrid, about twice the duration in 2020. The largest -demand vehicles include the shortest offer in Europe, Yaris Cross Hybrid and RAV4, according to Toyota.
In Japan, buyers are waiting for two months to five months for many models, and the Toyota site appears.
Another person said that in one of the West Coast agents in the United States, Prius Hybrilate was sold in mid -February, and only a handful of hybrid Camry was available.
In India, an important growth market for Toyota, delivery times have improved since last year, but it is still from two months to nine months depending on the model, another person said.
Reuters conducted an interview with 10 numbers in this field, including people in Toyota and its suppliers, who described the bottlenecks that affect the hybrid supply chain. The details of the parts and suppliers concerned have not been previously reported, and some measures that Toyota considers to reduce pressure in one market.
In a statement, Toyota said that the demand for hybrid increased “significantly last year in all regions” and was his utmost to increase production in response. The auto company said it has improved the time of car delivery during the past year.
“Currently, the productive capacity of the hybrids and components of our suppliers and the manufacture of our internal parts is a line with our annual production plans and the ability to assemble our cars.”
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Delivery times cause headaches to some customers.
Sajata Dasjopta, CEO of November Development in New Delhi, told Reuters that he had ordered the Toyota Hayyota Hacros Cyants in January 2023. But he learned from the merchant in August 2024 that he had an additional waiting for 25 to 30 weeks.
This month, another email arrived: it will need to wait from 15 to 25 weeks.
By this point, Diasjopta said, he has already gave up waiting and bought a gasoline model from the local mahindra & mahindra company.
Two people, like others, said that the delays stem from the narrow supply of ingredients used in the hybrid transmission engines, which were largely made in Japan and are charged abroad to where the cars are assembled.
One person said that the deficiency of the magnet used in the parts of Aisin Corp as a single pain point. As a result, Icene, one of the largest components of the Toyota Group, was unable to get circles and the stomach from its suppliers, delaying the delivery of hybrid engines to Toyota, as this person said. The person said that while the magnet was obtained from Japan and China, the issue of AISIN was universal.
Likewise, Denso, Toyota Group, Denso, was suffocated by two and third -class suppliers that caused delay with deliveries from its transformers, another person said. The reflectors convert the battery current and are used to control the engine.
In the face of lack of components, Toyota may look forward to other suppliers alongside Denso in India, and consider making reflectors in the country, two people told Reuters.
Toyota did not address Reuters questions about two specific suppliers. Issen and Denso refused to comment.
Reuters reported last year that Toyota moved to convert most or all of its assortment to hybrid vehicles only, which may increase pressure on suppliers.
Adding capacity
The India Unit in India, Varinder Wadewa, Vice President at Toyota Kirckar Motor, the India Unit in India, said in a statement that the removal of the supply chain bottlenecks has already led to a “great rationalization” of waiting times.
Wadwa said that the company recently added the ability to produce 32,000 additional cars annually and was investing to add 100,000 other cars.
Elsewhere, Toyota invested $ 14 billion for batteries in North Carolina to meet hybrid demand, and said that the cargo cargo batteries in North America are scheduled to start in April. Almost half of the Toyota collected vehicles in the United States last year were hybrids.
Hijina is a rare bright point for Toyota in China, where it faces fierce competition like BYD. While Toyota’s total sales in China in 2024 decreased by 7 % from the previous year, the sales of its electric cars – mostly hybrid – grew by 27 %.
Competitors such as Hyundai and Kia Affiliate are also struggling to increase hybrid production, mainly due to a lack of ability, according to a person familiar with the matter.
One of Hyundai’s agent said in Seoul this month that the waiting time was the year of the hybrid version of Palisade Suv. The company’s documents showed that waiting for the Kia carnival was 10 months, and for the hybrid dissolution in Soronto, seven months.
Hyundai did not answer questions about the situation.
In August, Hyundai said that it would double its hybrid assortment to 14 models by 2030 to counter EV.
Honda, another hybrid player, said that she is witnessing a strong demand, especially in North America and Japan, but she refused to provide details about delivery times.
For some customers, saving fuel makes the hybrid worth waiting.
Finally, Rakish Kumar, a businessman in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, got a Toyota Hyryder Suv in March, about five months after her request.
He said: “We have one hybrid car in the family already, and I know that miles are better than any other car.”
(Adity Shah and Norikiko Sherozo reports participated in the reports of Daniel Liusenk in Tokyo, Hyungo Jin and Hakkong Yang in Seoul, and Sorap Sharma in Lenawo; edited by David Dollan, Brian Thievinot and David Kravchu.)
