Toyota restarts production in Japan after computer system failure

TOKYO – Toyota said today it has restarted production after a total shutdown of its operations in Japan a day earlier, reported dpa news agency.

Toyota said that operations initially restarted at 25 production lines in 12 of the 14 assembly plants in Japan. The remaining 28 production lines would resume their operations later today. 

A technical issue yesterday had led to a complete production stoppage. Toyota said it has replaced the faulty system.

The cause of the system failure is still under investigation, the carmaker said, though it is suspected that the disruption was caused by a system update. The company ruled out the possibility of a cyber attack.

The issue meant that the parts needed for production could no longer be procured. Toyota and its suppliers use the same computer system.

The Toyota Group, which also includes commercial vehicle manufacturer Hino Motors and small car specialist Daihatsu, has production facilities in Tokyo as well as in eight other prefectures, including Aichi and Fukuoka.

Toyota had to close all its plants in March after its domestic supplier Kojima Industries suffered a system failure caused by a cyber attack. At the time, all of Toyota’s 28 production lines at its 14 factories, and the production of about 13,000 vehicles, were affected.

The group was also forced to temporarily shut down part of its operations in July after a cyber attack on a computer system at the Nagoya port, a Toyota hub, disrupted port services for two days. – Bernama, August 30, 2023