Toyota Suspends Operations In 3 Thailand Plants

Toyota Motor Corp. has suspended operations at all three of its plants in Thailand through next Wednesday due to a shortage of parts, as the latest coronavirus outbreak has forced an auto parts plant in the country to shut down, company officials said.

Mainichi Shimbun reported that the three Toyota plants in Thailand, which are located in the suburbs of Bangkok and have a combined output capacity of 760,000 units per year, serve as key production bases for the Japanese carmaker in Southeast Asia.

Toyota has yet to decide whether operations at the three plants will resume on July 29. It will take into account the COVID-19 infection rates in the area when determining whether to resume operations or extend the suspension further, the officials said.

The automaker also announced the same day it will suspend part of the production at its affiliate's plant in central Japan for a total of five days in late July and early August "due to a parts shortage resulting from the spread of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia."

Operations at the Toyota Auto Body Co. plant in Aichi Prefecture will be suspended for two days next week and three days in the first week of August, Toyota said in a press release.

The production line to be suspended manufactures five models, including the Alphard and Vellfire minivans.

In Vietnam, COVID-19 infections have been rising sharply, prompting local authorities to impose restrictions on daily life, while other Southeast Asian countries are also struggling to contain the coronavirus.

The situation could affect other Japanese automakers that have local production lines or import auto parts from the region.

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