March 18, 2022
Toyota Motor announced it was halting production at all of its vehicle assembly plants in Japan for at least one week in the wake of the strong earthquake in the country.
On March 16, 2022 night, a 7.4-magnitude ‘quake struck off Japan’s north east coast, causing powerful shockwaves felt as far away as Tokyo, temporarily cutting power to millions of homes and businesses and even derailing a bullet train.
The latest ‘quake led to production suspensions at Toyota’s all domestic production lines, including facilities run by Hino and Daihatsu. The stoppages are expected to affect production of around 500,000 vehicles, a further dent on Toyota’s production that is facing worst delay in company’s history.
Toyota said in a statement: “Due to the parts shortage resulting from suppliers affected by the earthquake, additional adjustments will be made to production operations in some plants in Japan.”
The company had just announced further production cuts for March and for the second quarter of 2022 due to the global semiconductor shortage. Local reports suggested some Toyota plants had suffered some damage but no injuries to staff were reported.
Toyota Press Release
Toyota would like to extend its sincere sympathy and condolences to those affected by the earthquakes that occurred in the Tohoku region on March 16.
Due to the parts shortage resulting from suppliers affected by the earthquakes, additional adjustments will be made to production operations in some plants in Japan as follows. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these adjustments may cause our customers and relevant suppliers.
While prioritizing the safety of the people and the recovery of the region, we will continue to work with our relevant suppliers in strengthening our measures against the parts shortage and make every effort to deliver vehicles to our customers as soon as possible.