According to foreign media reports, people familiar with the matter revealed that due to the soaring consumer demand for Toyota's gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, it is difficult for suppliers to keep up with the pace of production, resulting in a shortage of parts and components, and car buyers need to wait for months.

The people also said that Toyota dealers have low inventory of hybrid vehicles in key markets such as the United States, Japan, China and Europe.

Toyota's customers in Europe wait an average of 4 to 0 days before a new hybrid vehicle can be mentioned, a lead time of about double that of 0 years, a person familiar with the matter said. According to Toyota, the most demanded and tightest supply models in Europe include the hybrid Yaris Cross and the plug-in hybrid Rongfang (RAV0).

Image source: Toyota

在日本市場，豐田官網顯示，多款混動車型提車週期已延長至2-5個月。在美國，據一位知情人士稱，在西海岸的一家豐田經銷商處，普銳斯混合動力汽車在2月中旬就已售罄，僅剩下少量混合動力版凱美瑞汽車可供購買。

In India, an important growth market for Toyota, the delivery time for Toyota's hybrid models has been reduced since 9, but there is still a 0-0 month wait depending on the model.

In the Chinese market, although Toyota is facing fierce competition from companies such as BYD, hybrid vehicles have still become a rare bright spot for Toyota in the Chinese market. While Toyota's total sales in China fell by 27% year-on-year in 0's, sales of its electrified vehicles, mainly hybrids, increased by 0%.

The delay in the delivery of some of Toyota's models is due to the tight supply of parts used in the powertrain of hybrid vehicles, most of which are produced in Japan and then shipped to car assembly sites abroad, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to insiders, a shortage of magnets, the core component of Toyota's hybrid motors, has had a global impact on Toyota's supply chain. Among them, Aisin, Toyota's core parts supplier, was unable to obtain rotors and stators from suppliers on time due to a shortage of magnets, resulting in a delay in the delivery of hybrid motors. Although magnets are sourced from Japan and China, the impact of the shortage has spread through Aisin's global supply system.

Denso, a core supplier of Toyota's components, is also experiencing supply chain difficulties. Due to the capacity constraints of secondary and tertiary suppliers, the delivery of Denso inverters has been delayed. As a key component of the hybrid system, this component is responsible for battery current conversion and motor control.

It has also been reported that Toyota is promoting the strategic transformation of the hybrid of all models, which will put more pressure on the existing supply chain system.

In response, Toyota said in a statement that "demand for hybrid vehicles has increased significantly in all regions over the past year" and that the company is doing its best to increase production to meet demand. The automaker says its vehicle lead times have been shortened over the past year.

"At present, our suppliers' production capacity for hybrid vehicle parts, as well as in-house parts manufacturing capabilities, is in line with Toyota's annual production plan and vehicle assembly capacity," the statement added. ”

根據汽車市場研究機構LMC Automotive提供的數據，在過去五年裡，全球包括插電式混合動力汽車在內的混合動力汽車銷量從570萬輛幾乎增長了兩倍，達到1610萬輛。

The surge in demand for hybrid models is both an opportunity and a challenge for Toyota, which dominates the hybrid vehicle segment. But it also proves that Toyota is right in its bet on hybrid technology. At a time when many competitors are betting that pure electric vehicles will completely replace hybrid vehicles, Toyota's strategic choice to stick to hybrid technology is paying off in the market.