The automaker will reduce output again in November, but the impact will not be as painful as before and Toyota sees signs of recovery on the horizon.

The SUV version of the Crown sedan, a staple in Japan for decades and the first Toyota exported to U.S., will be available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV, and sold in Japan, China and North America, sources tell Reuters.

Logistics companies in Japan, striving to cut costs and make the most out of the pandemic-inspired online shopping boom, are finding an unlikely white knight in Chinese EV makers.

China is Porsche biggest single market with sales up 8 percent in 2021.

The factory makes the electric Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers for domestic and international markets, including Germany and Japan.

Toyota's global production plan for June stands at about 850,000 vehicles, a cut of about 100,000 vehicles.

The government said LG Energy, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI will be key players, driving investment in R&D and battery production.

The Solterra, Subaru's first global EV, offers the brand's trademark all-wheel-drive setup. But on the outside, it shares a lot with Toyota.

A Japanese battery start-up is launching a commercial fleet service using Geely EVs.

Toyota said there was "a possibility" that it could lower its full-year production plan of 9.7 million vehicles as it faces a continuing shortage of parts due to the COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

Mercedes, which did not disclose the location of Envision's new U.S. cell factory, also flipped the switch on a new battery assembly plant located on 270 acres near its vehicle factory.

Tesla sold 70,847 China-made vehicles in December, the highest monthly rate since it started manufacturing in Shanghai in 2019, China Passenger Car Association data showed.

The letter, dated May 1 and addressed to local authorities in Shanghai's Lingang Special Area, outlined the lengths to which the city went to help Tesla, indicating the U.S. automaker's importance to Shanghai.

The expansion, if it goes ahead, would give Tesla EV-dedicated production capacity in the world's largest auto market on a par with more established brands in China.

Toyota's new EV will be slightly bigger than its compact Corolla, the world's best-selling car of all time. One source told Reuters that the vehicle is like a "Corolla with bigger back-seat section."

Even the best supply chain planning is proving no match for a pandemic that virtually ground the auto industry to a halt a year ago and has plagued efforts to restore production.

The automaker reported domestic China shipments of just 8,621 units in July, a 69 percent plunge from June.

Respondents in the U.S. and China appeared to be the most optimistic about profitability moving forward, the data showed.

Unable to secure a number of parts, including wire harnesses from Vietnam and chips from Malaysia, Toyota said it would slash its vehicle output in September by 40 percent from previous plans.

With the help of 5G, autonomous vehicle developers in the world's largest car market have taken the lead in integrating roadway sensor data.