Toyota Halts Production Due to Explosion at Chuo Spring Plant

Toyota will pause production on three lines at two Aichi Prefecture plants from Monday, following an explosion and fire at Chuo Spring. This incident specifically affects the Takaoka and Nagakusa plants, producing RAV4 and Harrier SUVs. A prior explosion at Chuo Spring in October 2023 had also caused production halts.

Toyota has announced a suspension of production on three lines across two plants in Aichi Prefecture, effective from Monday. This measure is linked to an explosion and fire that occurred at a Chuo Spring plant, a Toyota affiliate, on Thursday. The decision on when production will resume will be made around noon on Monday.

The affected facilities include one line at the Takaoka plant in Toyota City, known for manufacturing the RAV4 and Harrier SUVs, and two lines at the Nagakusa plant operated by Toyota Industries in Obu, which also produces the RAV4. The incident has led to significant operational disruptions.

The explosion incident caused Chuo Spring to cease operations on two of the seven lines at its Fujioka plant, which is responsible for producing suspension springs for vehicles. As of now, there are no updates on the timeline for resuming those halted lines.

Notably, this is not the first occurrence for Chuo Spring, as a similar explosion and fire incident took place in October 2023, which previously caused Toyota to suspend 13 lines across eight plants. This pattern raises operational concerns for the automaker.

In summary, Toyota’s production is being significantly impacted due to an explosion and fire at Chuo Spring’s plant, leading to the suspension of three lines at two Aichi facilities. The company is yet to determine a timeline for resuming operations, heightening concerns given a prior similar incident in October 2023.

Original Source: www.japantimes.co.jp