Toyota Motor Corp., confronted with its first U.S. sales slump in 13 years, will further cut North American production and may offer fewer model versions to lower costs, according to a company spokesman.
Assembly work at the company's U.S. and Canadian plants will be suspended on Dec. 22, extending a scheduled Christmas-New Year closure by two days, spokesman Mike Goss said Tuesday.
Sienna minivan output in Indiana will be cut in half in January and production at one of two Georgetown, Ky., factory lines will be slowed, he said.
Sagging U.S. demand for large pickups and sport utility vehicles led Toyota in August to halt production of Tundra pickups in Texas and Indiana for three months. U.S. sales for Asia's largest carmaker have fallen 12 percent this year through October as the economy weakened, gasoline prices rose to a record and the credit crunch reduced consumer access to loans.
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