Toyota Motor has announced that it will be resuming operations on Wednesday (March 2) after a temporary suspension earlier this week.
The Japanese carmaker closed all 14 of its factories in Japan on Tuesday (March 1) after a supplier had an issue with its computer system.
While the supplier or specific computer issue has not been confirmed, a report from the Japanese-based outlet Nikkei reports the problem is because of a cyberattack against Kojima Industries.
“It is true that we have been hit by some kind of cyberattack. We are still confirming the damage, and we are hurrying to respond, with the top priority of resuming Toyota’s production system as soon as possible,” an official close to Kojima Industries reportedly told Nikkei.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the government is “working to confirm the situation”. Law enforcement is also investigating.
Toyota suspended 28 lines at 14 plants. Subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor will also halt operations at some Japanese plants on Tuesday.
The shutdown includes a Daihatsu plant in Kyoto Prefecture. The halt is expected to lower output by a few hundred vehicles.
This comes as Toyota’s productive capacity has been hit significantly by the global semiconductor shortage. Japanese factories represent roughly one-third of Toyota’s annual production.
Supply issues were expected to reduce vehicle production in North America in January to 50,000 units due to supply chain issues.
At the start of the year, Toyota revealed that it would miss annual production targets and cut its February targets. Half of the 150,000 shortfalls in Toyota’s February production come from Japan, the rest from overseas.
Toyota kicked off the fiscal year with a 9.3 million vehicles target in the 12 months ending March 31. The company ramped-up output and saw record profits despite the pandemic-related microchip shorted. However, throughout the last summer, the global slowdown saw production hampered.
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