The malfunction is preventing Toyota from ordering components, and the cause is being investigated, but it is “likely not the result of a cyberattack,” according to a spokeswoman.
Toyota suspended 12 factories in its home market beginning Tuesday morning and added the remaining two in the afternoon, according to a spokeswoman. The amount of output lost was unknown.
According to Reuters calculations, the plants account for around one-third of the automaker’s global output.
Toyota’s domestic output had been recovering following a series of output cuts blamed on semiconductor shortages. In January-June, output increased by 29%, the first gain in two years.
According to Reuters calculations, its Japan output averaged over 13,500 automobiles per day in the first half of the year. Vehicles from group automakers Daihatsu and Hino are not included.
Last year, operations were halted for a day due to a cyberattack on a supplier, which hampered Toyota’s capacity to order parts. Toyota restarted operations with the help of a backup network.
Analysts believe Toyota could be put to the test in terms of making up for lost output during the outage, such as by running extra shifts.
“Output was running at full capacity, so there’s little additional room for production,” Seiji Sugiura, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, explained.
Toyota’s Miyata facility in the southern prefecture of Fukuoka is expected to reopen at 0700 GMT on Wednesday, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The spokeswoman said it was unknown when the factory’s manufacturing will resume.
The incident on Tuesday was also having an impact. Toyota Industries (6201.T) stated it had temporarily halted operations at two engine facilities due to the automaker’s error.
Toyota is a pioneer in just-in-time inventory management, which reduces costs but puts production at risk due to supply chain snarls.
While the source of the current problem was unknown, corporate Japan has been on high alert in recent days following reports of harassing phone calls from businesses and government offices.
The calls, according to the administration, were most likely from China and were related to Japan’s dumping of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Toyota’s stock closed down 0.21% at 2,431.5 yen, after spending much of the morning in the red.