Down on chips, Toyota goes back to basics with car keys

Toyota Motor Corp has discovered that even keys can be too "smart" for their own good.

The world's top-selling carmaker said on Thursday it would replace one of the two electronic "smart" keys it delivers in Japan with a mechanical one for the time being as it races to get cars to customers in Japan.

"As the shortage of semiconductors continues, this is a provisional measure aimed at delivering cars to customers as quickly as possible," Toyota said in a statement, apologising for the inconvenience.

(US.TM)