Share

Toyota, Nissan signal production restart

Tokyo - Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan said Friday they will restart all domestic assembly plants from mid-April after production was halted following the nation's biggest recorded earthquake.

Japan's leading automakers were forced to suspend production due the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on production, with crucial supply chains broken and power cuts prompting plants to be shuttered.

Toyota will start operating its assembly plants from the morning shift of April 18 until April 27, a company spokesman said.

Plants will then become idle for the Golden Week holiday season, as they do every year, through May 10, a spokeswoman said, adding that no decision had been made for the post-Golden Week schedule.

Rival Nissan said it would also resume production around the same time, beginning with the first plant on April 11, but both giants warned they would be running at 50 percent of usual output levels for the time being.

Toyota shares closed up 1.36% to close at 3 340 yen on Friday. Nissan shares closed down 0.83% at 714 before it made the announcement.

"When I visited dealers, vendors, and our own factories, I heard people's desire to return to normal. That's what pushed me to resume our operations," Toyota President Akio Toyoda told reporters Friday.

"There are still issues with supplies of parts. But we will try to improve ourselves so that we can build as many vehicles as possible and deliver them to our customers," he said.

The restart plan comes as a particular boost to Toyota. On Wednesday it was threatened with a downgrade of its long-term credit rating by Moody's.

Moody's said it placed Toyota's Aa2 rating -- the third highest on a scale of 19 -- on review for a possible downgrade, one month after Standard & Poor's cut its rating on the automaker.

Moody's cited the impact of the earthquake and the devastating tsunami it unleashed, which led to power shortages and supply chain disruptions that forced the closure of Toyota's plants in Japan.

The agency warned that Toyota's production would not return to normal for "months" and cited the automaker's dependence on a Japanese market expected to be hit by weak consumer sentiment following the disasters.

While Toyota had earlier resumed production of its Prius and some Lexus hybrid models after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, its 16 other plants were idled amid a component supply crunch.

The production halt came as the automaker was recovering from a recall crisis that brought the quality of its vehicles into question.

Previously lauded for its safety, Toyota became mired in crisis when it recalled nearly nine million autos between late 2009 and February last year due to brake and accelerator defects alleged to have caused dozens of deaths.

The crisis dealt a huge blow to the firm's reputation, prompting predictions it would lose market share as it tightened its recall policy to encompass around 16 million vehicles between late 2009 and January this year.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.89
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.82
+0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.30
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders