Toyota Expects to Return to Normal Production by End of 2011 (TM)

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) announced Friday that global production will begin to ramp up as soon as July in Japan and August in North America, with all models back to normal production by the end of 2011.

The automobile manufacturer was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged Japan in March. It has been examining its operations since. The one-month difference in the start date is attributed to the time needed to ship parts from Japan.

“To all the customers who made the decision to buy a vehicle made by us, I sincerely apologize for the enormous delay in delivery,” President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference in Japan today announcing the timeline.

“Our entire company is committed to solving the problems before us, so that we can achieve production recovery even one day sooner.”

According to the Toyota release, "Currently, manufacturing plants in Japan are working at 50 percent of capacity due to parts availability, while those in North America are operating at 30 percent of capacity because of the parts supply situation."

Toyota is a Japanese-based company engaged in the automobile and financial businesses. Shares closed higher by $0.54 on Thursday, to $77.80.