Asian Tech Press (Dec 20) -- Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp said Monday it would halt production at five domestic plants in January due to supply chain issues, chip shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported.

The report said that the suspension will affect about 20,000 vehicles, but won't have influence on their annual target to manufacture nine million vehicles.

In addition, Toyota said last week that it was projecting a bigger reduction in vehicle production in North America in January to 50,000 units due to supply chain issues.