TOKYO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Japanese major automakers' domestic output slumped a record 61.8 percent on year in May due to falling demand and production lines here being shuttered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the automakers' data released Monday revealed.
In the recording period, 287,502 vehicles were produced, with the decline, the sharpest since comparable data became available in 1967, coming on the heels of a 46.7 percent nosedive logged in April, the data showed.
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker by volume, saw domestic production plummet 57.0 percent to 122,744 vehicles in May, while Nissan Motor Co.'s output tumbled 78.7 percent in the recording period.
Subaru Corp.'s output also fell by a record amount, tanking 77.8 percent in the reporting month, with Mazda Motor Corp. saying its domestic output in May plummeted 83.6 percent compared to a year earlier.
Japan's top eight automakers saw their combined overseas output drop 61.7 percent to 629,256 units in May, less than the 67.9 percent drop booked in April, the latest data showed.
The collective improvement in overseas output of Japan's top eight automakers in May was owing to increased production at plants in China.
The automakers' facilities in China were brought back on line far quicker than other international production hubs, owing to its swift handling of the pandemic and resumption of operations, the automakers said.
Toyota said its output in China increased 13.5 percent in the recording period, while Nissan's production saw an uptick of 2.1 percent compared to the previous year. Mazda, meanwhile, saw production in China leap 58.1 percent on year in the recording period, the latest data set showed.
As for exports, the eight automakers said that compared to the same month a year earlier, a 67.3 percent fall was logged in May, amounting to 110,996 vehicles, owing to slowing production and slumping demand in overseas markets amid the adverse effects of the global pandemic. Enditem
