Customers who purchase certain domestic Toyota and Lexus vehicles made from November will receive only one smart key instead of two because of a semiconductor shortage, Toyota Motor Corp. announced on Oct. 27.
It is the very first time that Toyota has been forced into such a move.
Customers will only be provided a mechanical key for their second key, which can be inserted into the lock on the car door, as notified by Toyota
The measure is said to be temporary, and customers affected will receive the second smart key when they are ready.
The company has said the change will apply to 14 models of Toyota cars including the Crown, Prius and Harrier, along with nine Lexus models, such as the LS and ES.
When included vehicles are going to be sold abroad, 25 Toyota models and 12 Lexus models will be affected by the decision.
Typically, since long when a vehicle is delivered to a customer, Toyota gives two electronic keys, which enables an owner to lock and unlock the vehicle without touching the car.
Each electronic key also has a mechanical key.
Deliveries of new electronic keys, however, have been way very expected because of the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
To deliver a vehicle to their desired customer as quickly as possible, Toyota said it has decided to make one smart key available for customers of certain types of cars.
Is has been noticed that car manufacturers have struggled to manufacture vehicles to their liking because of the semiconductor shortage.
Certain Toyota models are expected to take several years to be delivered, the company said.