Operations in Japan are scheduled to resume on February 15, the company said Monday in a statement on its website.
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Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will suspend all domestic production of its vehicles from February 8 through February 13 as an explosion at a steel plant in central Japan in January has caused parts shortages. It said vehicle production on lines outside of Japan will not be suspended and will continue as usual.
A Toyota spokesman said in a Reuters report that it had enough inventory to keep the Toyota plants running till February 8, and that all overtime and weekend shifts had been cancelled.
The explosion occurred at an Aichi Steel Corp. plant in Chita city in Aichi prefecture, Toyota’s home region and its main production base.
Aichi Steel is expected to return to full operation in March.
Following that date, Toyota will monitor its supply on a day-to-day basis and decide accordingly.
But key nameplates, including most of the Lexus and Scion lineups and the flagship Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle are still imported from Japan. The company took complete control of its Daihatsu unit in a $3 billion deal Friday in to expand its market share in the sub-660 cc engined minicars, popular in Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
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Meanwhile in Europe, Volkswagen halted production at two of its German factories that build Passats, and at its main gearbox plant Saturday as the world’s second largest auto maker grapples with reduced demand and technical problems.
