Toyota halts European production for 8 days

PanARMENIAN.Net - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday, April 13, it will suspend production in Europe for eight days due to parts shortages following last month's massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The move underscored how the supply crunch in the wake of the March 11 twin disasters is affecting Toyota's operations beyond Japan. The world's No. 1 automaker announced last week it would suspend car production in North America in April.

Toyota said it will halt European output at five plants on eight days between April 21 and May 2 - auto assembly factories in Britain, France and Turkey, and engine plants in Britain and Poland. After the stoppages, the plants will run at limited capacity in May.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 destroyed auto parts factories in northeastern Japan, causing severe shortages for Toyota and other automakers.

Mamoru Kato, an auto analyst from Tokai Tokyo Securities Co. Ltd., said if the supply crunch drags on, Toyota could incur "big losses" in the April-June quarter. "The company simply cannot manufacture cars due to parts shortages. In North America and Europe, Toyota procures almost all engine parts from Japan. Suspended production in Japan and North America is a big blow to Toyota," he said.

In Japan, Toyota is currently shutting down output except at three plants, which are running at limited capacity.

Toyota said it suffered a production loss of 260,000 cars in Japan from March 14 to April 8 alone. The disasters also cost production losses of 50,000 cars in Europe and 35,000 cars in North America, AP reported.