Toyota Motor (TYO:7203) (NYSE:TM) announced Tuesday its decision to prolong a partial production pause at two of its domestic assembly plants until Wednesday. The extension comes in response to an incident at one of its supplier's facilities, as confirmed by a company representative.
An interruption at the Chuo Spring, responsible for producing engine and valve springs for vehicles, has also caused a temporary halt in production at associated companies Toyota Auto Body and Toyota Industries (OTC:TYIDF).
According to the spokesperson, the affected production lines will continue to remain halted as a consequence of the incident. Additionally, a production line at Gifu Auto Body, responsible for manufacturing the Toyota Coaster minibus, will also be temporarily stopped.
The spokesperson representing Chuo Spring stated that an explosion occurred in a building at its Fujioka plant at approximately 03:15 GMT Monday, resulting in substantial damage to the facility. They further added that authorities, including the police and fire department, are currently investigating the matter.
As a consequence of the accident, production on all five lines at three Toyota Auto Body plants was brought to a standstill, impacting the manufacturing of various minivans such as the Alphard and some Land Cruiser models, including those designated for overseas markets.
The affected Toyota production lines are in the Takaoka and Tsutsumi plants, both located in Toyota City in central Japan, which also serves as the company's headquarters.
All 14 of Toyota's domestic assembly plants experienced a halt in operations back in August due to a system malfunction.
Shares of TM are down 0.51% in early trading on Tuesday.