Toyota Group, the world’s largest automaker, has suspended production operations at 25 of its plants in Japan. The factory stopped because the supply of parts was interrupted due to an error in the parts ordering system.
According to Japan’s Nikkei, 25 of Toyota’s 28 production lines in Japan stopped from the morning of the 29th, excluding the Miyata plant in Fukuoka Prefecture and the Kyoto plant of Daihatsu Industrial Co., Kyoto Prefecture. However, production lines at the remaining two plants were also shut down from the evening. All 28 production lines at Toyota’s 14 plants in Japan have been shut down.
Toyota drew a line that the system error, which is the cause of the plant’s shutdown, was not a cyber attack. At the same time, the system error was cited as a malfunction of the system that manages parts ordering. It affected lines that produced all models, including Corolla, Camry, and Prius Hybrid.
Toyota temporarily suspended all production operations at its plants in Korea in March last year due to cyber attacks by its partner companies. Even at that time, the cause was related to the parts ordering system.
Kojima Press Industries, a partner company that supplies interior and exterior materials for vehicles, was attacked by a cyber attack, and Toyota took an unusual step to shut down all factories in Japan for fear that this would affect the entire system.
However, at that time, it was a problem for a specific partner, so the plant resumed operation in a day. Toyota solved the problem by placing additional orders where it produces the same parts. However, it was analyzed that about 13,000 cars were produced at the time due to the suspension of operation of 14 factories and 28 lines during the day.
Toyota said it was unclear when the error was resolved and the plant resumed operations. However, analysts say that a prolonged shutdown may have some impact on Toyota’s sales in the third quarter.
Toyota is establishing a system to produce 9 million units annually in countries around the world, including Japan, North America, Europe, and Asia. Including its affiliates, Daihatsu and Hino, the annual production volume exceeds 10 million units. Despite the global supply chain collapse caused by the COVID-19 crisis, it sold 10.48 million units last year, firmly maintaining its position as the world’s No. 1 automaker for three consecutive years.
